Annual screening - mammogram vs mri
Hi, I’m looking for advice or shared experiences. For annual monitoring (e.g. after a diagnosis of DCIS), has anyone been offered the choice between a mammogram with contrast and an MRI with contras...
Forum Discussion
HiEsjay my surgeon and oncologist discussed my annual monitoring with me taking into account various risk factors and recommended an ultrasound and 3D mammogram (tomography). The relevant factors for them included the pathology results from samples taken after neo adjuvant chemotherapy and targeted therapy and surgery, further chemotherapy after surgery, my cancer type (invasive lobular cancer) and not having dense breasts.
Just to clarify & save any confusion... the Mammogram and MRI mentioned in the original question here, are referring to scans using 'contrast', which is a dye injected during the scan to enhance the image and show up any anomalies. This is different to a standard mammogram or 3d mammogram which doesn't use 'contrast' to enhance the image.
Thank you for sharing. Please could I ask was the mammogram that didn't show the issue, with 3D with contrast? Thank you
It was a 3D mammogram without contrast. It remains a question if they had used the contrast, would it have made a difference in that scenario? Who knows? After trying on two separate occasions to get clear margins, the Dr then used MRI with contrast to determine how extensive the DCIS was and realised a mastectomy was the only option. I also had stage 2 IDC within the main tumour but that didn't show up on the mammogram either.
That's why it's so important for those with dense breasts to be made aware of their density so they can get the extra scans they require.
