Hi everone,
Two Oncologists have told me that I no longer need to have mammograms done since I am Stage 4. Has anyone else been told that? I had a lumpectomy to my left breast in 2012. I had 1 mammogram in 2013, and none since mets were found in my bones in 2014. Is this what the current trend is now? Kats2
Hello,
I am also stage 4 and had a Lumpectomy in 2005.
My Oncologist also told me I don't need to have mamograms.
I also get CT scan every 4 months and if anything was different it would show up on it.
I think it depends on each patient.
Hi Greenlee,
You've been getting CT scans every 4 months for 12 years? Wow. I don't get that many.
You're right. I guess if anything is amiss it would show up on a scan. It's good to know that I'm not the only one being told no more mammograms.
Thanks for writing! Kats2
Yes
I get Ct and Heart scans every 4 months to make sure my chemo is going well and also not affecting my heart.
I have heard others who say they no longer get mammograms either.
Take care.
Hi I just spoke with my oncologist about this. I have a cyst in the other breast that has been "watched" for over a year. I am treating at an amazing hospital with incredible doctors and was told that their beliefs are that I do not need a mammo again. I am on Ibrance, femara and a slew of supplements since March 2016 for stage 4 BC with Mets to the bones. I am doing very well. No active cancer at the last 2 PET/CT scans. I have my scans every 3 mos. This one will be 4 mos. I get a lot of support from this site. Thank you. Marlayne
God bless!! That's very encouraging for all who are new to this disease... Thanks for sharing... Have a Healthy long life... 
My sis 34 has had an occurrence in a year from right to left. Hope and pray that she gets going good forever after this episode... God bless u and her both...
Harry
My oncologist told me I don't need them anymore as well.
It makes sense to me since the presence of cancer is known. I think body scans are more effective in our case.
I also have been told no more mammograms. I have CT scans and Echocardiograms to check on how chemo is affecting me. Pretty standard I think.
yes, because now your getting PET scans every 3-4 months, that shows everything, im in the same boat as you, i had lumpectomy in 2012 and in March 2016 came back with mets, so for the past year I have scans every 4 months
Yes, I've been told mammos are no longer necessary.
I get scans and requested no more mammograms. I had a different cancer in each breast and was diagnosed in Aug 2014 stage 4 met bone. I do not understand the order of operation as a mammogram first and then ultrasound anyway. I think for earlier cancers it should be ultra sound than mammogram followed by another ultrasound. 30 minutes later and I question if the mammogram did not cause the mass that ultra sound finds. Ultra sound found no mass on one of the breast and no mammogram this time, ct scan was done also. I had bone spurs in neck from this and surgery, removed with radiation a few months afterwards to cervical spine and my bones are fine, still cannot lift or walk too long on hard surfaces as cervical spine was affected also with tumors from the breast cancer and removed. My bone regrowth is doing well but strength did not come back in a month or even several months. 3yrs later and I am able to keep up the housework and unload the dishwasher. (neck bends) Bodies take time to heal and each person is not the same in the healing progression but it does happen!
Anastrozol/xgeva/gratitude and prayer.
Yes, I have been told the same. I too get scans every 3-4 months.
Hmmm... Seems to be the norm. I had a mastectomy in 2003 when stage 2 and have continued to get a mammogram and ultrasound on the other breast since then. I became metastatic in 2007. I get a CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis as well as a mammogram and ultrasound of my breast ince a year. I haven't had a PET/CT in a long time (mets to the lungs and brain). I'm going to ask my onc about the necessity of imaging the breast.
Thanks for your input everybody. It makes me feel more reassured. I just have to make sure I get scans done in a timely fashion. I imagine a PET or CT scan would show the breast area, maybe better than a mammogram? Kats2
My oncologist told me the same thing.
Will have to ask - I had a mastectomy and was diagnosed with a small liver met 6 months after starting Tamoxifen. It disappeared for 3 years on Letrozole but came back last October so am now on Xeloda - the "gentle" chemo?? I have CT scans every 4 months or so and had mammograms to monitor a fibroid in my other breast up to last October. It would be a pleasure to lose the squeeze as I feel the scans should show up anything suspicious. Hope you are right and my oncologist also stops asking for them.
Mine is the same. Apparently, there have been studies and if there is a recurrance in the breast, removing it doesn't change outcomes a single bit. So, instead of more surgery, they just leave it alone. With that said, there's not much reason to expose us to more radiation than we currently enjoy. Especially if they aren't going to do anything about it.
Yes, I was also told no more mammograms. In all reality for me, no difference. I had a clear 3 d mammogram 8 months prior to being diagnosed. Then, right out of the gate, Stage 4.
I was told the same. No more mammograms.
My oncologist doesn’t tell me to get them either. The CAT scan would pick it up if there was a new tumor in your tissue
I was biopsied and scheduled for a double mastectomy when sent for a series of pre-surgical tests including a mammogram that did not pick up on my cancer through my dense tissue! So the mammogram didn't find the cancer that was there. In both of my diagnoses, the sonogram didn't see the existing cancer either. If you suspect that something is wrong, ask for a biopsy. It is better to know than to let it grow.
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