BREAST MRI

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pattypoo53
pattypoo53 Member Posts: 46
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Hello everyone,

I am Patty,54 yrs. old, I was diagnosed on Dec 15,03, triple negative, stage IIA,2.8 cm, no nodes involved, no angiolymphatic invasion, atypical medullary tumor,clear margins lumpectomy, 4 ac and 4 taxol, 33 rads. It will be four years in Dec. so far I am doing great. Bloodwork is great, tumor markers are a 7, mammo came back normal. I have dense breasts so I requested a Breast MRI, my insurance approved it, my onc agreed because of my dense breasts. Has anyone had one for routine followup after a breast cancer diagnoses? I am also having a chest ct scan for routine followup, I had a a chest ct last year and it was fine. Really wondering what the breast mri is like? I don't post much but read daily, this is a great website.

Patty

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  • chumfry
    chumfry Member Posts: 642
    edited October 2007

    I had an breast MRI before my first mastectomy. I don't know if they're all the same, but I'll tell you how mine was. I had to climb up on a weird looking contraption that had two holes for my breasts to slide through. So I was lying on my tummy with each breast passing through it's own individual hole. I busted out laughing when I first saw the thing because I wasn't sure I could maneuver my DDD boobs through those relatively small holes. But they did fine. Laughing

    After that, it was just like any other MRI. There's loud banging but nothing hurts. And you have to hold really still. Some places give you earplugs or play music, and you can talk back and forth with the tech via a microphone setup.

    I had to have an IV for some contrast material they shot into me, which helped them visualize my tumor better for the surgery. I don't know if you would have to have that for a screening.

    My first tumor, in 2005, was a 4.5 cm medullary, so I'm glad to hear you're doing well so far. Routine mammo found a second primary this April in my other breast. It was IDC, but still triple neg.

    --CindyMN

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  • Watson
    Watson Member Posts: 1,490
    edited October 2007

    Hello,

    I had a routine MRI done a few months ago.  I was originally dx in May 2005.  My experience was a lot like Chumfry's.  It was funny having the tech pull my boobs through the holes.  I now know how a cow feels being milked.  lol

    They had the front of the table raised a little so I felt sort of like a Goddess at the front of a boat.  lol  Actually not the most comfortable position, but doable.

    Take Care!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2007

    the breast MRI machine is noisy, but they give you headphones or earplugs.  I just close my eyes and try to relax and think about something else, you do have to remain absolutely still for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. It does require a contrast dye (gadolinium) thru an IV.

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  • jackieandeileen
    jackieandeileen Member Posts: 8
    edited October 2007

    Hi, I am done with my chemo, about a month out. Today my doctor told me I need to have restaging scans done. I don't really know what this means. He wants me to have a CT and PET scan done. Is this just standard procedure after chemo? 

    Should I be worried?

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  • chumfry
    chumfry Member Posts: 642
    edited October 2007

    Hmmm, I haven't had to have any scans post-chemo, and I've been through this twice! Maybe this is just the way your doc does things. I had mastectomies, though, so maybe that's a factor.

    Did your surgeon get clean margins? If so, I wouldn't worry. Maybe your doc wants new baseline scans to compare to your future follow-up scans. My first thought was perhaps your doc has a financial interest in the scanning center, so he/she gets more money when he/she orders more scans. But I'm a cynical old lady. Surprised

    --CindyMN

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  • joannnc
    joannnc Member Posts: 119
    edited October 2007

    Yes, the breast MRI is supposed to be excellent for discovering tumors very early in very dense breasts.  I had my first one on both breasts done in June of this year.  I am 4 1/2 years from diagnosis.  It is suggested that I have one done yearly.  I also had an MRI done after my lumpectomy in August of 2003. 

    JoAnn

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  • ravdeb
    ravdeb Member Posts: 3,116
    edited November 2007

    so, I've requested a breast MRI. My onc and my surgeon both wrote me referral letters and the radiologist who read my last mammo and did my last ultrasound said that the density in my breasts made it too difficult to read them properly. She didn't recommend mri because of the false positives. She told me this verbally. That's her own personal opinion. She didn't write that though.

    So, I put my request in (I live in Israel so it's a different system here..socialized medicine) a few days ago and I got a call today saying that the head doctor who makes the decisions on this wants to see my first mammogram. HUH? He is just LOOKING for something so he can turn me down.

    My onc told me that he (this head doctor of our health fund) won't okay it because my mammo showed the tumor and the ultrasound saw it too, despite my dense breasts. I believe this is because of the location of it..outer part of breast, high up and right under the skin. It actually protruded. And it was already 2 cm.

    On Sunday I'll bring in the mammo results to fax to this guy but I feel as though I'll either have to fight really hard, or just give up.

    I plan to stick together articles about how the MRI is recommended for dense breasts. If you have any articles, could you link me to them? I have some already.

    thanks.

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