I finished my last "easy" chemo treatment May 12th. Sure has been a loooooong 15 months.

I asked my oncologist what my follow-up plan will be and what kind of testing they will use to be sure cancer hasn't crept back into my life. He said no follow-ups other than seeing me every 4 months for a little while, then 2 x's a year until the 5th year."

I asked why cuz everyone else I know has had something like a PET scan, MRI, bloodwork, or SOMETHING. He said, and I quote, "We wont do that for you because if your cancer comes back, there wont be anything we can do anyway, so there is no need in the expense of the testing.".............................so I sat there, speechless.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear while getting my very last treatment................

I suppose the good news is I wont have the anxiety associated with having tests run and waiting for the results.......................

So I have my LAST phase to the reconstruction schedule for this Thursday. I am having "trapese flap" nipples constructed (sorry Herb). They will also remove my port!!! Wooo Hooo!!!! It is the 7th time I have been put to sleep since all this started, but it SHOULD be the LAST time!!!!

Doc said as soon as they are healed, I can get my tattoos! About 3 weeks he said.

So, this journey is FINALLY coming to a close.............I hope...........

CONGRATS!
If I were you, I would demand those Scans from head to toe at least twice a year for awhile.
You, like me, are Her2.
My friend did get a brain met. It was "found early"... " before any symptoms" At the MRI it showed to be very small and only one. They Cyber Knifed the sucker.. and she is back to being NED...

Karen, if you have insurance.. I sure would get those Mri's and scans...
I told my oncologist I will be gettting them.. she agrred it was better to catch things before symptoms surface.
God Speed and MANY prayers for you to be cancer free forever!
Love,
Laura

I should ask my onc about it ..
I am her2+++ as well.

See Laura, that is what I said to my onc! That it HAD to be easier to fight one tumor than many.......he said that if I got one tumor, it would be chemo resistant, so it would turn into many anyway..........

I am going to tell him about your friends case when I go back and see what he says about that. To me, your friends case is very powerful evidence that early intervention DOES make all the difference!

I'm not her2+, but I don't get scans either. I had a pretty good case of bc..LOL...4.5 cm and 5/7 nodes positive. I even asked about MRI for the "remaining" breast. Nah...don't need to. Of course these tests are so expensive. Got to keep costs down. Gee, think about if the government comes in and tells our doctors what to do.

Personally, I don't want to be scanned all the time. That would be stressful. However, I remember..yep I do. The PA signed me right up for an MRI when I told her about my eye..vitreous detachment. I had part of a brain at the time. LOL

My heads in the sand. That's bad.

EMERALD, CONGRATULATIONS! Are you gonna show us the new "handy work?"

Oh, Em, I didn't like your onc's answer to your question. I've always heard it really wouldn't make any difference.................

Nicki had tumor markers done. That's why her onc had her do scans because they were too high. And she was Her2+, but she didn't finish Herceptin because of her heart. I believe she only had three treatments. I also believe she was triple neg. The Herceptin has shown great responses. Hopefully ALL will be well. Don't drive yourself nuts..it's no fun.

Em...Congrats on Finishing Up!!! It has been 7 months for me now since I finished with Herceptin and had my port out. It seems a lot longer ago. I guess thats a good thing.

I do not have any scans myself. I just go every 3 months for 2 years, then every 6 months untill 5 years then annually after the 5 years. I do bloodwork at this time too.

I was like you when finished with Herceptin I wanted to be tested 2x a year, but my onc said its not necessary. I look at it this way...if something has metastasized and caught early say a small tumor,.... it's stage 4. If it's caught later with 5 tumors it's still stage 4. What I am trying to say is stage 4 is stage 4. There is no grey area in my opinion. Bone metastasis is the most easy to treat brain being the worst.

I am so glad now not having these scans because the anxiety is horrid. I posted about going in for a baseline pelvic US that was my wanting. My onc just went along with it to give me a peace of mind. Even though I had suggested it, I still cried all the way home after that US. For 5 days after I was a wreck and felt "cancer" in my abdomen. I hate..hate scans and the anxiety. I think you will eventually see where I am coming from. Also, I do not want to be exposed to anymore radiation.

Well I am DONE!!! Once I was in the recovery room the first thing I did was feel for the port....................it was gone!!! And then I started to cry! I looked at Mark and said "It's really over! I can't believe it, it's really over!" I just sat there with tears running down my cheeks! I felt like running around the whole center hugging everyone.....just too drugged to do so.

I have had no pain, only some discomfort. And it has been where the port was, not the new nips. I till cant believe this whole thing is finally over.

Now I just heal up and get tattooed and I am back to "normal"

Em, so happy to see (feel) your sooooooooooo happy. Seems like a very long nightmare. Go celebrate..eat a doughnut!

Glad your journey is over but I do not believe what your onc said about not doing any test and nothing else they can do if it does come back. That is simply not true. My onc is If I feel one thing is wrong and I ask she will order it whether it is a pet scan or bone scan. there are so many different treatments out there that is makes me mad the onc said this and I don't understand it. Praying and hoping you are done for good.