Mammography vs CT scans

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weisssoccermom
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Mammography vs CT scans

Postby weisssoccermom » Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:41 pm

In the 5 years since I've been a member of this board, the following question routinely surfaces every so often.

"If I'm having regular CT or PET scans, do I need to still have a mammogram"?

So today, when I was having my yearly CT scan, I remembered to ask this question. Here's the answer I got from the technician.

An emphatic YES. Apparently there are govt regulations for the sensitivity of mammograms and the CT just isn't anywhere nearly as good at picking up small abnormalities in the dense breast tissue. He made this analogy (in reference to my insurance company denying my chest CT unless a chest X-ray showed something). By the time the chest X-ray showed a tumor in my lungs, it would be so big, as the tech said, I'd be 'toast'. Same thing for the CT vs mammography. By the time the CT would pick up a breast tumor, it would be so big that, the patient, again would be 'toast'. He also said a PET doesn't substitute either as breast tumors can start out (a) either so small as to not be picked up or (b) breast tissue that can turn cancerous doesn't necessarily start out that way (ie PET wouldn't pick it up).

Moral of the story ladies - get those yearly mammograms. Schedule it to coincide with something - beginning of spring, end of summer, your birthday, whatever, but just get it done!
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soccermom
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Re: Mammography vs CT scans

Postby soccermom » Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:12 pm

When I was diagnosed with colon cancer and had my chest ct they found something on my breast. Needless to say I had to still go for a mammography, ultrasound, and ended up with an aspiration. Luckily turned out to be a cyst. The ct can not tell what it is you still need a mammogram.
Stage 2A colon cancer
T3 N0 M0
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Kathryn in MN
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Re: Mammography vs CT scans

Postby Kathryn in MN » Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:56 pm

I was told with my every 3 month PET schedule the last 3 years, that I did not have to get a mammogram. I had one in September 2009 before starting chemo, and another September of 2010 before going on chemo again, but have not had one since then. (But I have had 6 or more PETS since then, and several CT's.) I had a mammogram every year since age 22, except when pregnant or nursing (due to a rare condition in my breasts which 10 years ago a specialist finally said would never turn malignant). At this point I'm not scheduling one unless I don't have a PET for a long time.

If a CT can pick up blood clots and tiny spots on lungs, I wonder why it wouldn't pick up something in the breast? If a PET picks up activity in a lymph node, why wouldn't it pick it up in the breast? There are a LOT of false negatives from mammograms, so I am not intersted in more biopsies of anything in my breast that doesn't light up on a PET. (I have had many needle biopsies and none of them were malignant.) Just me, my personal decisions for me - and I am not a "normal" case.
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Gloria
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Re: Mammography vs CT scans

Postby Gloria » Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:57 pm

A few months ago at one of my cancer support groups here, we had a Radiologist came to our meeting and I asked him the same question and he gave me basically the same answer...that YES we still need them. When I had my first CT/Pet scan after my resection they found 2 lumps but what they didn't see was that they had alread been biopsied and tagged. My poor Onc thought he was giving me possible additional bad news. :) I do need to get mine schedule.
56
DX 6/10/10
Resection 6/17/10
Stage IIA (pt3N0MX)
8/8 benign lymph nodes
Blockage/tumor 2.5 x2 x .3 cm
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Finished 1/17/11
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mymom
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Re: Mammography vs CT scans

Postby mymom » Wed Apr 18, 2012 6:00 pm

Yes!!!!! Mim just got one at my urging and found very small new primary bc. So do them...i speak from experience. See my other posts.
Stage 4 CC DX 5/11
colon/livr rsct 5/11(1 met)
Folfox July-11/11
NED to 5/12
New Primry BC-4/12,Stage 1
2 livermet 5/2012
Liver rsct,HAI 6/12,Folfiri
NED to 10/13,1 liver met,ablation, Folfiri
NED to 12/14, another spot
3/15 NED
Ablation 1 liver met 10/15
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6/22- small spot liver again, ablation oct 2023


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