I never had a scan during my breast cancer treatment!

To anyone who has undergone breast cancer treatment I need your help!

I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer this week- nearly 5 years after being given the all clear. Thinking back I wonder if I was failed by my doctor which now led to this second diagnosis. When I was initially given the all clear first time I was never given any scan, just they did a biopsy during my mastectomy and and said there's no evidence of cancer and I had the all clear.

Anyone who has got the all clear- did you have to go for scans before being given the all clear? Or is whag happened to me normal?

What if the cancer spread at the time and I was never truly clear?

  • TB 

    hello 

    I had breast cancer July 22 now all clear 

    I never had any mri or scan of any sort I asked they told me no 

    I think it's wrong my check is now a mamo once a year and that's it surely they should do more than this but not sure if they do my first check is august 

    live Lara ️

  • I have no idea if it was the preconceptions we went into this with, that were shaped by what we read from others. But we were gobsmacked when we found out it was a mammogram only once per year. I always assumed you got scans every X amount of months for the first year, then X amount the next year and so on.

    No idea if it's a cost cutting exercise or if there's research behind the decision that states it has no benefit, but it was an eye opener for sure.

    My wife is currently awaiting biopsy results on something they found in her right breast (originally left breast cancer), that they found on her 1st annual mammo after her treatment ceased.

  • Profbaw 

    oh no is your wife going through the wait again

    im absolutely sorry that you are in this position again hopefully all will be good 

    I have my first mammogram coming up in august already dreading it 

    love Lara 

  • Hi, I'm really sorry to hear that your cancer has come back as Stage 4. Did you have lymph node involvement the first time? I only had scans after they found cancer cells in the lymph nodes, to check if it had spread further, but it hadn't. I am now "cancer-free" after chemo and surgery with clear margins, and I will soon have radiotherapy. But I know that there is still a small chance of recurrence. I wish you all the best with your treatment. Amy x