MRI

I had one done to ensure they could see everything as I have very dense tissue. Turns out they found 3 other questionable areas within the same breast and verified via ultrasound. I could have done biopsies on these areas but decided to opt for mastectomy instead. Basically, the MRI results changed my surgical plan and may have prevented a recurrence. Who knows, but in my opinion it's better to have more information than less.

I don't think MRIs are standard because they are expensive (in the US!!!) and many insurance companies balk at paying for them. I wish I had known about them before my lumpectomy for DCIS, although as it turns out nothing would have changed for me. When I learned after my lumpectomy about MRI's I asked for one - my thoughts were: more information about the breast with DCIS and the status of the other breast. The lumpectomy surgery - being recent, obscured some areas of the lumpectomy site but it basically looked ok - My lump was not detected by mammo, so why believe that nothing was brewing in the other side? but according to the MRI it was clear - so I proceeded with radiation.  going forward, I get one mammo and one mri every year now.

sje, I don't have the answer as to why some doctors request MRIs and others do not, but my oncologist typically orders them. My tumor was difficult to detect, so I was relieved when she ordered the test. I was also nervous about it because I was afraid of what it would show (like cancer everywhere). I know that was silly, but I had just been diagnosed and was still processing everything that was happening to me.



Ann

For me, the MRI let the BS know that a second questionable area did not need to be excised.  They also checked to see whether there was anything in the other breast that did not show up on the mammo.

sje, I've wondered that too and I'm sure it's a cost issue. MRIs take longer than a fairly simple and less time consuming mammogram but they are much more accurate. My breast surgeon warned me that MRI's pick up everything, causing a lot of false positives which lead to uncessary biopsies. To me that didn't matter since I was going to have surgery anyway. I'm just thankful my oncologist ordered the test.



Ann

Another option pre-surgery, rather than an MRI, is a BSGI (breast-specific gamma imaging) test.  It works kind of like a PET scan does, but only focuses on the breasts.   It's a lot cheaper and quicker than an MRI and picks up even very small DCIS cancers.  It's done in the nuclear medicine department of the hospital and, basically, you have a little of the radioactive-isotope-tagged glucose inserted IV, wait about 10-15 minutes while the cancer cells suck that stuff up (they are much more active than regular cells) and then sit in a chair while a mini-mammogram-like camera images each breast and your axillary areas.  Not much pressure--way less than a regular mammogram.  The hardest part is that you have to sit still for about 10 minutes per picture they take.  I left the hospital with my own copy of the films on CD and it was reeeaalllly obvious where my cancer was (and also very interesting--especially the color enhanced picture). It was also really obvious that it was the only thing like that in either breast, and also showed nothing in the axillary region.  It basically looks at the cancer at the moleular level.

It's a fairly new test and I don't see a lot of them being given, as I read on these boards, but my surgical oncologist thought it was a great alternative to the MRI, especially for those who are a little claustrophobic (like me!)