Hi fellow MBC’ers: On May 20, 2020, a new radiopharmaceutical agent was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with PET imaging: Fluoroestradiol F 18 (FES). Known in the US as Cerianna™, the radiopharmaceutical is an estrogen analog (16α-[18F]-fluoro-17β-estradiol) and the first F-18 PET imaging agent to be indicated for the detection of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive lesions as an adjunct to biopsy in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer (MBC).1,2
The scan will show all ER+ cancer cells in your body to help with better treatment options. Interesting article.
I know and understand this same frustration…as all other things, you get what you can pay for and it’s certainly the same with healthcare. I’ve paid thousands and thousands of dollars into the insurance companies throughout my life, but now I have to wait to be OKd by them for a procedure or treatment. Ugh, R&D is for the rich…but eventually it may trickle down to our grandchildren.
This sort of inequality is going to bite us all in the rear. I see it in healthcare, in education (don’t get me started on college admissions), in so many things. The trouble is it’s all so politicized and polarized that we often don't come together to address what is the common good in constructive ways.
Of course there are a lot of good people who do care and who are trying to make a difference. Let’s hope they prevail.
In the meantime off the billionaires go to space! 🙄
Well, if it makes you feel better, when we first relocated to SF bay area from NYC, with, I may add, gold standard health insurance, I could not for the life of me find a doctor who took both new patients AND insurance. And this was when I had all the symptoms of MBC.
UCSF, one of the leading cancer centers, told me flat out that they "don't take new survivorship patients..." (this was pre-diagnosis) It is a long, boring, story of how I FINALLY got diagnosed with MBC, but suffice to say it involved several doctors, multiple wrong turns and in the end someone who is on the board of my husband's non profit who is also on the board of UCSF to get me in the back door there. WTF! I got lucky, but it shouldn't take knowing someone who knows someone to get diagnosed with a serious disease!
Now my husband has symptoms that are probably not serious like mine, but still need attention and he is in the same situation... a full time job to find a doctor. One who came highly recommended told him he only took new patients who pay a $2000 a month concierge fee. "Offices in my neighborhood are expensive,' he explained, as if that made sense. Needless to say, my husband is still looking ....
That is a horrible story. Health care may be good but if you can't access it....I think this kind of thing happens in smaller cities with a high-income privileged class. My sister-in-law was a federal government employee in DC, had great insurance (not the excellent one that members of congress get), but could not find a doctor that takes new patients except for concierge. All taken up. Had to range far afield in Maryland.
Sandra, I didn't know you had a million mets. I have a pretty good gp -- but she was young and new when I started with her, one of her first patients, and I insisted on being tested for cancer for 3 months while she refused. She thought losing 15 pounds in a couple of weeks was fine. It wasn't until I couldn't walk from my bed to the bathroom that she reluctantly order an xray. Now, 3 years later, she has 750 patients, and barely has time for me. Instead, a rheumatologist I had for an auto-immune disease that I had before cancer acts like my primary. I guess it doesn't matter who it is as long as that doc pays attention. He looks at all my tests, orders others and orders my primary doc to order others, explains my scans to me because my oncologist doesn't do that well, and gets me early appointments with specialists as needed, intervenes. So I see my primary doc once a year, and the rheumatologist every 3 months, and more often if he is worried about something. He calls, his receptionist calls, and they respond to the whole person.
My conclusion from this experience is that it doesn't matter who functions as your gp as long as they care. If it is your oncologist, fine.
It is nuts. I had similar difficulty being diagnosed--although I now have great care. Self advocacy is key. Glad you feel you have someone on your team!!
I had that test! Just a few days ago. I had a PET-CT scheduled, and was surprised that I didn't have to fast. When I got there, they explained it was a new radio isotope just for ER+ breast cancer. They said it was JUST approved by the FDA. You say it was approved a year ago. Hmmph. I have had 3 or 4 scans in that time, and am supposedly at one of the best cancer centers in the US. They just got around to it?
That's a really great article. Thank you for sharing. My only concern would be the need to wash out all the estrogen blocking drugs in my body (Fulvestrant, Arimidex) before the exam. As those are keeping me alive, I wouldn't want to stop them.
This sounds very promising. I have been having PET scans with the regular glucose injection and this sounds like it would be more accurate in detecting cancer cells. It will be interesting to find out how long before the test a patient would need to flush out the estrogen blocking drugs as that would be a concern. Looking forward to more information on this! Thanks for sharing.
I didn't have to flush when I had it last week. I am on an oral SERD. That is an estrogen receptor block. (Results tomorrow. Hope I am not overly optimistic. Now I wonder if it will be accurate.) It's not possible my oncologist doesn't know about this flush.
Hi Tammy: What is the name of your oral SERD? I was under the impression that the only FDA approved SERD is Faslodex shots. I know of many oral SERDS currently in clinical trials.
Greetings Sister/warrior. "Each one teach one." Thank you for sharing this important information. Every advance in fighting this disease will help to save so many lives. GOD bless you sister/warrior. and over-comer😇
So I got my first scan result using this new radiopharm. Funny, it seems more succinct. I guess because it is more specific. Now I am trying to find where I posted that I was getting my first scan after switching to an oral SERD in a clinical trial. Just got results back.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Good News for HER2 Positive MBC Patients!
Question about imaging and biopsies 
Immunotherapies for MBC?
