Forum Discussion
So ... I received a Breastscreen NSW reminder for my 2 yearly mammogram!
Who else has received their Mammogram Reminder after being diagnosed & treated?
Last week, I was a bit surprised to receive a reminder to have my 2 yearly mammogram as I thought there might be some sort of communication between the various health professionals & the organisation .... then again - why WOULD they know about my ILC BC?
So far, I've received a written letter, an email & an SMS to my mobile phone - so they are really keen to get me back!!
I thought a letter explaining why I wouldn't be going back would be in order. This is what I wrote. I'll let you know if I get a reply!!
Hi guys,
I’ve received my reminder for a mammogram, but I was diagnosed with invasive lobular cancer 6 months after my previous mammogram, which wasn’t picked up by it.
There is no breast cancer (or any cancer) in my family, so this was (and still is) a real shock to me. I’ve had surgery (Jan 2018) and also radiation and am now on hormone tablets for the next 5 years+.
Apparently I have dense breast tissue, but I wasn’t advised of this by Breastscreen NSW and that it would be beneficial to have an ultrasound for earlier and better detection rates.
Breast Screen Western Australia advises their clients with dense breast tissue to do this.
It is time for Breastscreen NSW to do the same.
I will be having yearly mammograms and ultrasounds as a part of my ongoing breast cancer management, so would request that you remove my name from your reminder lists.
I only hope that I am not one of the 30% who then randomly go on to develop metastasised/Stage 4 breast cancer, irrelevant of the ‘good outcome’ of my surgery, Rads and tabs. It really is a lottery.
Much more research is needed in this area, to determine WHO will get Stage 4 and WHY? Tissue and bloods should be taken from all having surgery, to provide material for researchers to work with!
I would be interested if a radiographer could take a closer look at my last mammograms with Breastscreen NSW in 2017 ... to see if, in hindsight, anything could be detected on them, now that we know it was there all along? It was in my right breast.
What do you reckon? Not too rude??
Last week, I was a bit surprised to receive a reminder to have my 2 yearly mammogram as I thought there might be some sort of communication between the various health professionals & the organisation .... then again - why WOULD they know about my ILC BC?
So far, I've received a written letter, an email & an SMS to my mobile phone - so they are really keen to get me back!!
I thought a letter explaining why I wouldn't be going back would be in order. This is what I wrote. I'll let you know if I get a reply!!
Hi guys,
I’ve received my reminder for a mammogram, but I was diagnosed with invasive lobular cancer 6 months after my previous mammogram, which wasn’t picked up by it.
There is no breast cancer (or any cancer) in my family, so this was (and still is) a real shock to me. I’ve had surgery (Jan 2018) and also radiation and am now on hormone tablets for the next 5 years+.
Apparently I have dense breast tissue, but I wasn’t advised of this by Breastscreen NSW and that it would be beneficial to have an ultrasound for earlier and better detection rates.
Breast Screen Western Australia advises their clients with dense breast tissue to do this.
It is time for Breastscreen NSW to do the same.
I will be having yearly mammograms and ultrasounds as a part of my ongoing breast cancer management, so would request that you remove my name from your reminder lists.
I only hope that I am not one of the 30% who then randomly go on to develop metastasised/Stage 4 breast cancer, irrelevant of the ‘good outcome’ of my surgery, Rads and tabs. It really is a lottery.
Much more research is needed in this area, to determine WHO will get Stage 4 and WHY? Tissue and bloods should be taken from all having surgery, to provide material for researchers to work with!
I would be interested if a radiographer could take a closer look at my last mammograms with Breastscreen NSW in 2017 ... to see if, in hindsight, anything could be detected on them, now that we know it was there all along? It was in my right breast.
What do you reckon? Not too rude??
112 Replies
- It really is upsetting. Around 6 months after my mastectomy in August 2016 I received a letter from Breastscreen Queensland acknowledging that I had been diagnosed with bc and wishing me all the best. They also said that I would not be eligible for free Breastscreen visits for 5 years as I would be under the care of a specialist. My cancer was picked up in a routine Breastscreen mammogram and I had a pelvic ultrasound at QScan (in the same shopping centre as Breastscreen) two months after my surgery. The radiologist remembered my name and mentioned that someone from Breastscreen had visited them with my mammogram for a second opinion, “is it, or isn’t it?”. They were a bit iffy too so recommended a recall just to be on the safe side. It could have been a completely different story when I had my next mammogram 2 years later if they hadn’t!
However, I did get a Pap smear reminder 3 months after a full hysterectomy last May and was very happy to call them as have my name taken off the register 😊
You would think the surgeons would pass these details on? Jane - @Flaneuse I know I was shocked when I was sent the bill , even more so as where they had to go to was probably a 3 minute walk away !!
- Good on you @tigerbeth.
- @tigerbeth The HIDE of sending you a bill!
- Yep I've had 2 reminders from Breastscreen ! The first one caught me offguard & I was upset !
2nd one I threw in the bin !! No communication obviously even though I asked them to send my previous films to MIA for comparison ! They even sent me a bill for sending them , I didn't pay it !! - It is still very sad (dare I call it negligent!?) that those with dense breast tissue are not advised to have further screening.
It is not a difficult thing to do. :( It would take 10 seconds of time. They have to check the screens that the images are OK - so they know then & there.
If we can bring about this change alone - it will be good - Breast Screen is a great program over all but it has its problems. Here the main issue has been refusing to refer call backs to the local health service and persisting in requesting women travel to Maroondah for follow up scans. That's motivated purely by finances and funding which Ive long found to be the shabby side of the process.
Like many federal and state govt funded initiatives, they rely on numbers to keep the bucks coming in. Those of us who end up with a lobular diagnosis know how unreliable a mammogram can be, but I guess if it saves a few lives it's worth the irritation of having them nag for more business. If you unsubscribe you should find you are left alone, but it's curious that some people get no reminders at all. - @arpie I think your letter is superb.
- I'l;l be very interested to see if I get a reply!!Thanks @Aggie - I may as well ask for copies of my previous mammograms, 'for the record'!!
- I never get reminders for my mammogram and I have been having them for fifteen years. I do however get my two yearly reminder for my colonoscopy every time.
