Doctor mainly using tumor numbers?

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ChuckL
ChuckL Member Posts: 28
edited October 2016 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

I ask this on behalf of my sister, diagnosed in April of this year, de novo, mets to bones. Her doctor doesn't do scans very often. She's only had one scan, a bone scan, after those done to determine the amount of mets (30 to spine, pelvis, hip). Her tumor markers/numbers have been stable. They are low. She is ER/PR+

He did do a bone scan then a month ago to confirm she has no new mets (stable) and told her that they can't tell if the ones she does have are healing, based on that. This is a clinic in a relatively small town (60,000) and isn't a NCI center. I do get worried. She is happy with this care at the moment, willing to look afield later. She is on Ibrance, with, as I said, low tumor markers that haven't spiked. She feels great and has few adverse reactions to the 100mg Ibrance. Also on Letrozole and Xgeva of course.

We both read about people getting regular PET/CAT scans and worry, however.

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  • Fitztwins
    Fitztwins Member Posts: 7,969
    edited October 2016

    My new Oncologist uses tumor markers as a guideline or another indicator. Insurance once again is cracking down on scans. My old oncologist never used them. For me its a whole new world. My markers have not moved much over the past year, they did spike a little after I started Xeloda.

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  • 50sgirl
    50sgirl Member Posts: 2,527
    edited October 2016

    Chuck, Doctors all have different opinions about the frequency of scans. I don't like to have frequent scans, partly because of all the radiation, and partly because they just make me nervous. My TMs seem to be a reliable indicator for me, they went down for 11 months then suddenly doubled. My CA 27.29 was 947 last year at dx and decreased to 141 before they went up. I had scans when they spiked, and the scans confirmed progression. TMs are not reliable for everyone. Has your sister's MO said how often he plans to scan and when he will do a CAT scan? Your sister is in charge here, not her doctor. It is her life and health that are important. She can request a CT scan if she wants one. If her doctor says no, ask why. It is important that you and your sister have confidence in her doctor. If that confidence is lacking, please get a second opinion, even if you have to travel. A second opinion does not obligate you to change doctors,. It would just allow you to hear another point of view.

    Let us know how things are going.

    Lynne

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