Dense breasts/mastectomy/ongoing survei
Hi all. Since diagnosis in December of invasive ductal carcinoma Her2 positive and estrogen and progesterone positive. Found only in right breast. i was told chemo lumpectomy. Now all of a sudden surg...
Forum Discussion
Hi Megs
I was diagnosed at stage 4 at the outset and presumably cancer had been missed in previous mammograms and ultrasounds due to my having dense breasts - I was having mammograms and ultrasound every two years and had a physical exam by GP 1 year before diagnosis. I had multiple tumours in my left breast, the largest being about 9cm long, so beats me why this wasn't picked up at last screen or by GP. My tumour was only moderately aggressive, so have trouble believing tumour could have occurred, grown to this size and spread to bone in under two years. But unfortunately, I will never know.
I thought the debate at the moment is around offering women with dense breasts MRI's as there is less chance of cancer being missed primarily due to the expensive nature of MRIs. I wasn't eligible for Medicare rebates for MRI (however with the benefit of hindsight, I would have paid for an MRI if it had have been recommended), but you definitely would be eligible for a rebate now, as they have recently changed rules so that if you have had breast cancer already you are eligible.
I think the advice you have been given is more likely to be based on your pathology and chance of recurrence rather than risk associated with MRI dye. They use gadolinium as the dye for MRIs and they have recently found that your body can retain small amounts of gadolinium in the brain for many years after an MRI. However, they do not know if retaining these small amounts of gadolinium is bad for you or not. Personally, I would wear the risk of the gadolinium over having a mastectomy, if I hadn't have been diagnosed with breast cancer previously. Like @primek, if I was in your situation already having a cancer diagnosis, I would probably opt for a mammogram so that the chance of recurrence is lower. Everyone ways up risk differently though, so it is important to make up your own mind based on a full understanding of risks and benefits.
I think you need to talk to your surgeon to better understand the risks and benefits.
Good luck with your decision.
I was diagnosed at stage 4 at the outset and presumably cancer had been missed in previous mammograms and ultrasounds due to my having dense breasts - I was having mammograms and ultrasound every two years and had a physical exam by GP 1 year before diagnosis. I had multiple tumours in my left breast, the largest being about 9cm long, so beats me why this wasn't picked up at last screen or by GP. My tumour was only moderately aggressive, so have trouble believing tumour could have occurred, grown to this size and spread to bone in under two years. But unfortunately, I will never know.
I thought the debate at the moment is around offering women with dense breasts MRI's as there is less chance of cancer being missed primarily due to the expensive nature of MRIs. I wasn't eligible for Medicare rebates for MRI (however with the benefit of hindsight, I would have paid for an MRI if it had have been recommended), but you definitely would be eligible for a rebate now, as they have recently changed rules so that if you have had breast cancer already you are eligible.
I think the advice you have been given is more likely to be based on your pathology and chance of recurrence rather than risk associated with MRI dye. They use gadolinium as the dye for MRIs and they have recently found that your body can retain small amounts of gadolinium in the brain for many years after an MRI. However, they do not know if retaining these small amounts of gadolinium is bad for you or not. Personally, I would wear the risk of the gadolinium over having a mastectomy, if I hadn't have been diagnosed with breast cancer previously. Like @primek, if I was in your situation already having a cancer diagnosis, I would probably opt for a mammogram so that the chance of recurrence is lower. Everyone ways up risk differently though, so it is important to make up your own mind based on a full understanding of risks and benefits.
I think you need to talk to your surgeon to better understand the risks and benefits.
Good luck with your decision.