Powered By
Yesterday I went to see my doctor for my regular check-up. My oncologist suggested that I have a CT scan once a year instead of every six months because she told me that everything is stable. My cancer antigens: CA 15-3, CA 27 are normal and that I have two very small nodules that are very tiny in my left lung. Also tumor in my right breast is stable. She only suggested that I have a breast MR I. What you think? Is that Ok.
I'm 100% with @A MyBCTeam Member on this subject. @A MyBCTeam Member are you doing Signatera testing every 3 month?
Hi This is Andi Hunt 13 years stage 4 Metastatic Her2 positive
Treatment @ 3 weeks until 1byear ago toxicity of the heart no more treat wide open for heart failure again.
I always asked for Cat scans.@ 3-4 months.
I feel comfortable with that not sure oncology does, but I do!
Now instead of Treatment iam having Signatera ctDNA a good diagnostic tool call pick up active cancer cells months before any scans!! Fingers crossed 🤞
It sounds like your oncologist is seeing encouraging signs — stable tumor, normal cancer antigen markers, and tiny lung nodules that aren't causing concern. That's genuinely good news, and it makes sense that she'd adjust your monitoring schedule to reflect that stability.
Here's what generally guides these kinds of Show Full Answer
I say congratulations, sounds like great news.
Hi @A MyBCTeam Member ....I read your profile which says you are dealing with stage 4 cancer. I'm dealing with my 2nd breast cancer now which is an aggressive stage 3C and also have stage 3 or 4 endometrial cancer depending on which doctor you ask. I've had cancer 6 times now, twice with breast and 4 times with endometrial.
It sounds like good news with your cancer being stable, but you sound hesitant about the doctor's latest follow up scan suggestion/decision. I've been getting PET scans every 3 months since the 1st time my endometrial cancer came back in 2021. My doctor said last May she wanted to switch my PET scans to every 6 months which I was not comfortable with. I hadn't made it much more than a year, until now, without a new cancer spot appearing. The PET scans found my 3rd and 4th endometrial cancers and my 2nd breast cancer. In late August I made the 2 year mark for the first time since 2021 without being diagnosed with a new cancer. My oncologist and I compromised and my next PET scan, which is in a couple weeks, is being done at a 4 month interval. I've been a nervous wreck and my scanxiety is extra high right now while waiting an extra month for my PET scan.
I know that I personally wouldn't be comfortable jumping from 6 to 12 months between PET scans. I also wouldn't be comfortable getting a CT scan instead of a PET scan as PET scans show more and zero in on new cancer spots by measuring sugar uptake. As a stage 4 cancer patient being told to wait a whole year between scans seems excessive, unreasonable, and stressful to me.
If you are uncomfortable with your doctor's decision try talking with them, advocate for yourself, and see if you can compromise. Maybe you could get a PET scan every 8 or 9 months instead of a CT scan once a year. A lot of changes can happen in a few months, let alone during a whole year and I know I would want to have any existing danger zones like the lung nodules and existing tumor you mentioned monitored closely. With my 2nd breast cancer I had a clear PET scan in May 2024, but 3 months later in August I had an aggressive stage 3C result on the PET scan since the new cancer was growing quickly.
Good luck, I hope everything continues to remain stable for you ❤️
Join
Your Privacy Choices
