Hello
Ive recently had my scan and results beginning of March which showed rumours are shrinking on my spine and coming up to a year now on my 1st line of treatment.
I have 3 monthly scans just on my spine and an mri as my mets do not pick up on a ct scan. My question is how do they check the rest of my body lungs liver etc as they never seem to concerned about this and when I question it I’m told that they will do a ct scan but they never do one.
Is it because my tumours on my spine are shrinking so that means it won’t be anywhere else or can I still be at risk of spread even though there’s no progression on my spine.
it worries me as I’ve been having lower back pain and they have be informed since January of this year but still no rush to do a ct scan. I initially thought the mri would show all of my organs but they never seem to mention anything.
Thank you
Hi Tanya
I have an MRI approximately every 4 months but it is specifically of my head (my breast cancer tumour is behind my nose), I recently had one of my neck, where most of my skin mets are, but only the 2 biggest showed up. So I’d guess that your MRI is of a specific area - maybe you should ask what area it covers. If you are having CT scans of your spine, they surely are covering the three areas that are monitored quarterly - thorax, abdomen and pelvic region?
Reports identify every single thing the radiologists detect, usually labelling them ‘suspicious’. It may well be that your oncologist is wise enough not to bother you with these details. They may well be monitoring your progress via blood and tumour markers and feel sure your treatment is working well. I say this because not one thing a CT scan has identified as suspicious on my scans has been mentioned again, presumably they weren’t cancerous. Personally, I think the best thing to do is to ask to see the actual pictures and ask your questions about back pain from there. Tell them not just about your back pain but the anxiety it’s causing you and that you’d like the reassurance that this area is being regularly monitored - but I think it must be. You can’t just CT the spine - everything is visible surely? maybe you could pave the way by having a conversation with your breast care nurse - that’s what they are there for xx
Hello,
Although your spine tumors are shrinking, it’s still important to monitor the rest of your body for any potential spread. CT scans or other imaging tests may be necessary to check for metastases in other organs, especially if you are experiencing symptoms such as lower back pain.
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Best regard,
Pugh2