Tests after chemo

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lmcclure4477
lmcclure4477 Member Posts: 180
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Hi Everyone!

I was diagnosed Triple Negative Stage 1A in January. They removed five lymph nodes which were all clear and I had clear margins from my double masectomy. I am currently going through dose dense chemo of Adriamycin, Cytoxen and taxol. I finish treatments may 20th. I am curious if you all know if you plan to have any tests/scans after treatment is over to make sure the cancer is gone? I had a lot of tests prior to my surgery and the cancer was no where else. The chemo is more preventative in case there are any cells hiding somewhere. I talk to my breast surgeon and she said I will have a breast MRI one year from my last one which will be January. My oncologist said I won't get a scan immediately after chemo because it is not necessary. He said they will do blood work after chemo and then do a scan if anything looks suspicious because they don't want to do scans if not necessary due to exposure to radiation. Does anyone else know what tests they will have done after chemo??

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  • jenjenl
    jenjenl Member Posts: 948
    edited March 2013

    Sounds like your doctor is my doctor.  This was the most recent arguement we had...ongoing monitoring.  My doctor doesn't even do blood work.  I am waiting after chemo to discuss it again with him.  When I posed this question to the TN's ladies it seems that this approach is quite common but there are some woman who do get regular scans/blood work. 

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  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited March 2013

    Some docs scan others do not. Mine does not scan post treatment without cause for concern. At first I would have three monthly oncology appointments with bloodwork. Now three years plus out, I see the oncologist every six months.

    You need to decide what you are comfortable with and if you can go along with your oncologist's approach.

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  • Mumtobe
    Mumtobe Member Posts: 159
    edited March 2013

    I finished chemo a month ago and last week my onc released me. Doesn't need to see me again and I hope to God I never have to see her again!!!

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  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited March 2013

    Mumtobe - I am surprised your oncologist will not see you any more. Mine said we would continue appointments indefinitely. I wonder what others have been told.

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  • lostinmo
    lostinmo Member Posts: 922
    edited March 2013

    Mumtobe-wish mine didn't want to see me! I have to go every 4 months and have blood work done but that is all. I don't even know what test they run.

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  • Mumtobe
    Mumtobe Member Posts: 159
    edited March 2013

    Yeah that's what I have been told. I'm not released from hospital care. I have been released back to my breast surgeon but my only main follow ups will be mammograms each year. I just wonder why your onc would need to see you so regularly for us TNs. Do you mind me asking what is discussed at each appt? My onc assured me that she would see me if I ever wanted to discuss any concerns but they don't see patients unless symptoms present themselves, which I'm seriously hoping they don't!!!

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  • Mumtobe
    Mumtobe Member Posts: 159
    edited March 2013

    Ladies, silly question - what is the benefit of bloodwork? Would this be the norm? I'm nervous now!!

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  • lmcclure4477
    lmcclure4477 Member Posts: 180
    edited March 2013

    Blood work is done to see if your counts are off or to see if it goes to your liver. Also, my oncologist does a tumor marker to see if it is high. If high, they would want to do a scan to see if there are rumors anywhere. I am told I will be seen every three months after chemo. Will get a breast MRI every year.

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  • lostinmo
    lostinmo Member Posts: 922
    edited March 2013

    Mumtobe my last appiontment went like this:  blood drawn in lab, go across the hall and wait, get taken back to the room and wait. Dr comes in said "your hair is growing good, how you feeling?"  Me "better than when I was seeing you every week and I didn't get any curls."  Doc, "blood work looks good, when will you be back in town?" Me " When it warms up around here." Doc "okay come see me then."

    Now the thing is my family and I travel full time and I have to fly in or drive back to Missouri for my appts. If this is all it is I would rather go once a year.

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  • Mumtobe
    Mumtobe Member Posts: 159
    edited March 2013

    lostinmo - this is what my onc was getting at when she said they don't see patients unless symptoms exist then - I don't see the point in going in just to be asked how I'm feeling. If I am not feeling well I know where they are. I wonder could I get blood taken from my gp regularly and tested in the same way?

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  • lostinmo
    lostinmo Member Posts: 922
    edited March 2013

    Mumtobe- it wouldn't hurt to ask your gp if they could do the labs and then if something looks off they can sen it to your MO. I have been thinking about asking that myself to see if I can have the blood tests done wherever we are and the results sent to my MO then he could call and tell me "looks good" Laughing

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  • Mumtobe
    Mumtobe Member Posts: 159
    edited March 2013

    Yeah and hopefully it will always look good x

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  • Luah
    Luah Member Posts: 1,541
    edited March 2013

    I get bloodwork once a year from my GP. My onc doesn't do this routinely... intervenes only if symptoms arise. Many docs don't see the value of frequent bloodwork or scans in early stage BC patients. My onc cited research that shows BC tends to recur in the intervals anyways. 

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  • schatzi14
    schatzi14 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited March 2013

    My MO told the same thing yesterday after he told me I am basically triple neg...I have been taking arimidex for a year now even tho my ER+ is just 2%. He thinks the Anastrozole likely wasn't beneficial in my case. He left the decision to me whether or  not to continue it. I wish he had discussed this with me in the beginning!

    Luah...you and I have almost the same pathology and treatments altho I couldn't take the 4th DD AC because of blood clots, and I only had 16 rads.

    As I mentioned on another thread, I am certain we met last summer at Milestones.

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  • russem
    russem Member Posts: 11
    edited April 2013

    No scans or any tests after chemo for me either. I have requested a scan 12 months after my last treatment and my surgeon has agreed to that. The reasons for not scanning are pretty much word for word what you wrote! It feels weird not saving any scans - it seems they're just guessing that I'm ok, but I guess they know what they're doing. I see my oncologist every six months and will do so for 3-5 years. Then I'll see him every year. He does blood tests before each visit - so six monthly. The tests are liver function and a couple of others. My first test post chemo showed an issue with the liver - due to retest next week. Fingers crossed it'll be fine.

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  • Jenn230
    Jenn230 Member Posts: 5
    edited April 2013

    My dr will continue to see me forever but says scans and blood work are not necessary. Easy for him to say, I suppose!



    Jenn

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  • Ahicks62
    Ahicks62 Member Posts: 19
    edited July 2013

    I finished all treatment at the end of January 2013. I see my medical oncologist every 2 months, he does blood work and a physical exam. I will be seeing my radiation oncologist every 6 months for now. No additional scans or tests unless my tumor markers rise or I have other symptoms.

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  • anamerty
    anamerty Member Posts: 195
    edited July 2013

    When I had bc jan 1999 after surgery and rads I think I saw my ro every 6 months then after 5 years was supposed to be every year for mammos and exam but then after testing pos for brca1 I had mammos and mri every year staggared to have me seen every 6 months that ca was hormone pos the only reason my second ca was found was because I was going for my routine mammo and exam to the cancer clinic that was july 25th last year .the mammo was clean and had I just been going to a mammo clinic I would have walked out assuming everything was ok but as I get an exam that day as well, my ro found the lump in her exam it did not show up in the mammo because this is tn this time my oncol said she wont run tests etc unless I get symptoms just like most of your doctors have said .I think that once you have tnbc there is an assumption that it probably will come back just because of the nature of this beast and if it comes back it is probably stage 4 so early detection of mets in tn is not nessessary as the prognosis is the same so really there isnt an urgency to find it early not like the hormone positive bc btw my ro has been my dr for almost 15 years so she knows me well and is seeing me every 2 months but I think she is doing this to make me feel better I hadnt even had rads with this bc but I continue to see her anyways

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