Is this normal?

Options
radgal
radgal Member Posts: 100
edited August 2016 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Today is the one-year anniversary of being breast-cancer free as my surgery was one year ago today--lumpectomy and intraoperative radiotherapy.

As I was about to do my morning meditation, I got a call from my breast cancer surgeon.

I didn't pick up the call as I wanted to finish my meditation. I let it go to voicemail.

Funny though, I though, "wow, how sweet, they remembered that my surgery was one year ago today!! How cool is that that they're calling to congratulate me that I'm one-year cancer free!!"

Instead, it was a tape-recorded reminder that I have appointments this Monday for my one-year follow-up with my breast cancer surgeon for bilateral mammogram follow-up and another appointment with my radiation oncologist.

I don't want to go. I would really rather never have to see them again. Don't get me wrong -- they're both fantastic and I got excellent care. I just want to put breast cancer way behind me and forget about it.

Granted, my breast cancer was detected from a routine mammogram. It was only the second mammogram I ever had.

Do you ever want to not show up for follow-up appointments, mammograms and such??

Have any of you actually done that--say, "I'm done with breast cancer" and ignore all follow-up appointments, mammograms and such?

I know it is a stupid thing to do but my mind doesn't think like that, it just thinks in terms of pain versus no pain and has convinced me that "no pain" and denial (no follow-up appointments) are synonymous.

Would you have your follow-up bilateral mammogram Monday?

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • ravzari
    ravzari Member Posts: 277
    edited August 2016

    If I had actually had cancer (my BMX was preventative due to high risk & family history), I think I would be very good about follow up appointments as cancer can return even many years down the line, and even after years of clear scans and good health; skipping appointments when you've already had cancer could result in missing early stage recurrences and make a potentially easier to treat recurrence turn into bigger problem if it gets missed because you'd chosen to skip followup exams.


    I'm annoyed that they still want me doing the same level of high risk checkups after having a BMX and have my huffy eyeroll "ugh this is such a waste of time...' moments when the appointments approach every 6 months, but I fully understand why they want me to do that, even if I don't like it (though they still can't do a mammogram on what's not there, and nipple grafts don't stretch so they can't do it on those either, no matter how much they keep insisting they want to. :) ) and find it a hassle.

    Much better, in my view, to be safe than sorry when dealing with cancer.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories