CT Chest does not state Breast Cancer

ceecee123

Just a quick synopsis. Mom is almost 82 years old. She had a lump in her right breast that she ignored for years. About a year ago, we were able to get her to agree to a core needle biopsy. Came back Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, not In Situ. Her mom and also her sister both had breast cancer. She is against any kind of surgery or treatment. It was the size of about an egg back in Dec 2016. Fast forward to now, it has grown, and taken over most of her breast. It is puckered and pulled in, the nipple is crusty, and she says it is very itchy and she gets pain. Breast is starting to look inflamed. I tried to get her to at least see an oncologist, but she refuses. She also suffers from COPD pretty bad. At her pulmonary appt, was able to get a CT Chest ordered. I was hoping it would shed some light on the breast cancer and whether or not it was in chest area, lymph nodes, ribs etc. Got report back on that, she has a myriad of other problems, but Radiologist did not even mention the breast cancer in his report, nor does he mention anything to indicate that it was in bones, lymph, lungs. I called the Dr to question this, and she said the CT does not show Breast Cancer, that is what mammos are for. Something about tissue and shadows??? I have never heard of such a thing. I question this whole report honestly. Any thoughts? I know I have read CT is used to detect cancer. Thank you!

NancyHB

ceecee- i’m sorry your mom is having such a difficult time with her health. CT scans are not used to find cancer in soft tissues such as breasts, but can be used to locate suspicious spots in other places such as bones or the liver or lungs. Mammograms and ultrasounds are best used for breast concerns. I’ve had multiple CTs and not once have they reported any findings in my breasts. Did your mom’s CT mention any possible metastatic lesions in her lungs, bones, liver or any enlarged lymph nodes?

Lula73

CT can be used to check for spread of breast cancer but typically isn’t used for diagnosis. Additionally CT is really good at examining organs (like liver, lungs, etc) but not so much on soft tissues, bones and tendons/ligaments. MRI is used for those. Today, MRI is even used more often to check for spread of cancer than CT and a diagnosis of a primary cancer can be done with MRI in certain situations. PET scans are routinely used to check for spread in addition to MRI (PET shows you where to look/focus and MRI gives you a detailed view). So the CT may not have shown anything for the radiologist to comment on hence nothing in the report. Getting your mom to agree to PET and/or MRI would be good. Does she see a primary care doc? He should be able to order those for her and hopefully convince her to go for them. If nothing else it may tell you just how advanced things are so you can adequately prepare for the coming months/years. It may give her some peace with the breast symptoms too.

ceecee123

Thanks for your reply. It did say lymph nodes were not enlarged. I'm guessing that would be the axillary nodes also located under the armpit? I am just surprised it didn't show any mets given the way her breast looks. It's probably going to ulcerate at some point. She is showing alot of symptoms of brain mets, but I will never know.. Could be dementia..She's always been a difficult person to deal with, but now she is getting worse and I am her only child taking care of her.

ceecee123

Lula,

I've tried to get her to oncologist. She refuses. Her primary is pretty passive about all of this. She just keeps verifying she doesn't want surgery to cover herself. The only way I was able to get her to agree to CT Chest was because she has COPD and just had a bad bout with it. She smoked probably for 50 years. She doesn't want to know anything, I can't talk about it. She still says she shouldn't have done the biopsy, as she feels it made it worse. She claims she isn't in pain, but the other day she had very bad pain by her kidneys (not a UTI) for days. She also complains of shoulder pain. She is unsteady, dizzy, forgetful of recent events, and has a hard time putting a sentence together finding words she's thinking of. She has difficulty walking, is out of breath walking from one room to the next. Refuses oxygen at home. CT did show moderate artery and aorta plaque. She has a hiatal hernia, gallstones as well. All she does is eat all day. She has obviously given up and is going out on her terms.It's very hard to deal with.

Lula73

Ceecee- I’m so sorry this is the case. But like you say she’s doing this on her terms. And isn’t that how we would all like to go out - on our own terms? I sincerely hope it gets easier for you both.

LisaAlissa

Maybe see if her primary will give her a referral to a palliative care clinic/team? They may be able to give her "comfort care" and help her understand what she can expect "next." For example, maybe her breast tumor will erode through her skin and she will have an open wound?

They (along with her primary) should be able to help her manage her various diagnoses,

HTH,

LisaAlissa