Labs/Scans???

On my 4 month onc visit last month, she told me I don't need to do labs either, so that means I won't get labs for 8 more months.  I was wondering the same thing, why not?  I will ask her at my next visit.  She as done a bone scan once after I was complaining of hip pain and after my pcp ordered an xray, both were normal, thank goodness.  She said that they wait for symptoms to appear before scanning.

do you want blood work done every 6 months?  if i was you; i would have a conversation with the onc and find out what he is thinking...and why he does what he does.  would you feel safer with labs and tumor marker done?  i think oncs have their own style based on their belief system on reocurrance...etc.

i have labs done every 6 months and also 27.29.  only scan is  mammo and breast mri (i have dense breasts)  for me; that works perfectly and i like to know what is going on in my body and my onc knows this./  i have no idea how she follows her other patients but i like the way she follows me. 

you have a right as a patient to confer with your doc and feel good about your care.

best

diana

Yup, I've got the "no scan" unless there is pain onc too.  Yes it does worry me sometimes, but they say they don't want to expose us to unnecessary radiation, plus I'm sure insurance won't pay for "unwarranted" non radiation scans.  Sucks doesn't it?  But on the other hand the anticipation and waiting might be worse even if everything is OK.

Sharon

This is one of my biggest complaints about the cancer treatment we are getting.   My onc is the same way- no scans without symptoms, although he does regularly do the bloodwork. The problem with that is that bloodwork can sometimes make one complacent and thing all is ok when it's not.

 Now I'm on the other side of this, and have mets to the bones which were only discovered after one of my  vertebra collapsed.  I was numb from the chest down for a month due to the pressure on the spinal cord.   It was hell. The MRI then showed mets to my spine, ribs, and bone marrow. Had they found my mets two years ago ( I am sure they were there then) none of this would have happened!!  Maybe the outcome as far as life span might be the same, who knows, but I would not have broken my back because I would have been treated with strong meds and scanned every three months, as I am now. I also would not have been lifting boxes and putting stress on my spine with the excercises I was doing, which caused my weakened spine to collapse.

  Anyway, my thoughts, since you asked,   are definitely insist on scans two years out from treatment, pain or no pain. Invent pain if you have to.  I would ask for either a PET, or a combo of CT and bone scan.  You may have to say you have "discomfort" in your back and you're very worried in order to ge your onc to proceed, and for your insurance co to pay.  I had a low oncotype score, a small tumor, and no nodal involvement, and here I am.  I don't want to alarm you guys, but please insist on follow up scans, even if you don't have symptoms.  I sure wish I had.

No scans for me either. Onc. does blood work -- complete cbc every 3 months. I just found out that I don't make the protein to check for tumor markers, so obviously he can't do that.  I didn't even realize there were people who didn't make that protein. It kind of bummed me out that I had that diagnostic taken away.

Rachel

BRCA2+ DX 5.10 IDC 4.5 grade 3 ER+ 7+nodes 

All I can say is don't trust your body, even if you "feel ok".  I had no symptoms whatsoever when diagnosed, so I am not relying that my body will tell me something's wrong going forward.  I insisted on tumor makers every 3 months and even though am 3 years out from diag., am glad my onc listened to my fears and scheduled for a bone scan next week.  Thankfully though, all my other bloodwork was good. 

I am new here and this caught my eye b/c it was exactly what I was going to come here and ask.    I was dx in April 2011 with a pretty aggressive cancer, had high density dosing chemo (ACT) and then 36 radiation treatments.  I began by researching oncologists before I selected one.  I found the most absolutely fantastic guy ever, and highly recommended.  Six months into my treatment he retired from the field and moved on to another discipline other than oncology.  Word on the street was he was totally burned out b/c he put so much into his patients.

Shortly after dx, I was BRAC tested (mom died of the disease), had echocardiograms, scan, blood marker, etc.  I am thru chemo (ACT) and had 36 radiation treatments and now on Arimidex.  This pill's side effects are almost equal to what one would fear would mean your cancer has returned.  I spoke with the new oncologist who told me, no, we just do mammos these days as follow up.  I've seen other male friends who had different type cancer having scans and bloodwork all the time.  I get that treatment is/was expensive but I can't help wonder if we are not being sent down this merry path.  Once again I wonder about women's health care question.  I can seriously say that had the first oncologist told me this, I'd have walked away with a smile on my face and never questioned it but he's been replaced with Doogie Houser and I sometimes think I have shoes older than the new guy. 

As someone whose just finished treatment a month ago, how do you all ever get over the paranoia of wondering if any little minor pain is just that or if cancer has returned.?

financegirl, I don't know if you ever totally ever get over the paranoia, what some call "cancer-induced hypochondria".   Since I have no idea what mets might feel like, I can easily imagine that every ache and pain, every headache, is a portent of doom.  Getting a grip on your mind, which can easily run away with worry, was a huge challenge for me at the end of treatment, but has become easier over time.   My onc says give a pain two weeks, and that seems to cover most of the issues I've had; by the end of the two weeks, many issues have gone away by themselves.