When treatment ends

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Morgado4
Morgado4 Member Posts: 7
edited June 2014 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After


Well I'm almost finished with chemo, only one more treatment to go, then radiation. At my last onc appt I asked my dr if there will be any scans done to see where we are and he said no. I understand that after chemo scans may not show anything (mets) but what about later on down the road? I was just advised to watch for symptoms.. Usually by the time you show symptoms the cancer has spread pretty far.. I know that once cancer has spread to another place in the body the only thing that can be done is manage symptoms and try to slow the growth down and if that's the case I would like to detect something as early as possible. Has anyone had problems with getting their onc to order scans? Any advise on what I could do? Maybe request a scan every 4-6 months?

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  • ziggypop
    ziggypop Member Posts: 1,071
    edited November 2013


    Generally scans are not done from what I understand. Also (again from what I understand), Mets isn't one of those things where if you find it sooner rather than later, you have better chances of the treatment working. Why that is, I don't know - seems somewhat counterintuitive, but that's what is said about it.

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  • Morgado4
    Morgado4 Member Posts: 7
    edited November 2013


    I Have read of people living with mets for years. I am aware of no cure but there is tx to slow progression. It just sounds logical that if detected sooner than later tx could buy you more time.. I guess everyone's situation is different when dealing with mets..if anyone has any articles on this subject can you post a link please.. Thanks.

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  • NancyHB
    NancyHB Member Posts: 1,512
    edited November 2013


    Carmen, I asked the same questions you're asking, as I was coming to the end of treatment. And got the same answers you're getting. Like you, it makes sense to me to detect mets early, when they're more easily treatable, instead of waiting until there are symptoms. I guess it's just the way the BC world works right now; hopefully, somewhere down the road an easier, less-expensive way to detect metastatic disease earlier will be available.

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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2013


    carmen, there is a recent discussion on this in the stage IV threads:



    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topic/814410?page=1#idx_9

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  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited November 2013

    Carmen, congrats on nearly finishing active treatment! I see my onc every six months and arrange blood tests through my GP before each onc appointment; general bloods, calcium, hormones etc. 

    I have had issues picked up through these tests. They are worthwhile.

    I hope this helps!

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