How often do you get mammograms these days?

[SKL]

Just now, KSera said:

If the average risk is 13%, that means the people with double the risk due to family history have a 26% risk.

I don't think it's that simple, because the 13% is a combination of high risk and low risk people, but let's say the double risk is maybe about 20%.

If 13% of the population has had breast cancer, the moms, sisters, and daughters of that 13% have family history.  So let's say at least 15-20% of women in a given generation have a family history.  And if their risk of getting breast cancer is 20%, then that's at least 3-4% of the population having cancer and also having a family history.  That's going to be more than 15% of the next generation of cancer patients.

Anyhoo.  Something doesn't seem right if people know a lot of women with breast cancer but none of them have a family history.  But maybe my brain is just glitching.

[KSera]

6 minutes ago, SKL said:

Something doesn't seem right if people know a lot of women with breast cancer but none of them have a family history.  But maybe my brain is just glitching.

Without even thinking about the math, this makes sense to me as it applies to many things. Something can make a thing higher risk for people, while it's still the minority of people that have that high risk factor. I think of long covid, since that's in my knowledge sphere. Having been hospitalized for covid makes one's risk of long covid considerably higher than for those with mild or moderate infections, but still the vast majority of people with long covid had mild covid infections. This means most people you meet with long covid will have had a mild initial infection because a smaller percentage of a much, much bigger number is still a bigger number.

[madteaparty]

So between mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs, what’s  the one yielding more information? I’ve only had one mammogram and it’s basically useless in my case. I had an ultrasound this summer that I paid out of pocket for (was overseas). 
my cousins have been told to do yearly mammograms and MRIs (interestingly , not ultrasound from what I can tell unless something is being lost in translation) due to some genetic marker (not BRCA)

Edited Monday at 01:53 AM by madteaparty

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, madteaparty said:

So between mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs, what’s  the one yielding more information? I’ve only had one mammogram and it’s basically useless in my case. I had an ultrasound this summer that I paid out of pocket for (was overseas). 
my cousins have been told to do yearly mammograms and MRIs (interestingly , not ultrasound from what I can tell unless something is being lost in translation) due to some genetic marker (not BRCA)

MRI with contrast is best, generally, but often it’s done with a mammogram. US insurance really doesnt like to pay for breast MRI so they will usually do diagnostic ultrasound instead unless they are struggling to image something. Sometimes you get to do all three. 🙄

[crazyforlatin]

5 hours ago, madteaparty said:

So between mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs, what’s  the one yielding more information? I’ve only had one mammogram and it’s basically useless in my case. I had an ultrasound this summer that I paid out of pocket for (was overseas). 
my cousins have been told to do yearly mammograms and MRIs (interestingly , not ultrasound from what I can tell unless something is being lost in translation) due to some genetic marker (not BRCA)

I can let you know next week as I’m scheduled for an ultrasound and mammogram after my mri showed enhancements. I think I already know what it’ll show (I’ve been around this rodeo a few years ago) and I’m BRCA negative. I have extremely dense tissue unfortunately.

[Kassia]

Our hospital system offers "fast breast MRI screening" for a fairly low OOP cost.  I never get them, but they have been recommended to me because I always have a call back due to extremely dense breast tissue (I'm going for a six month diagnostic next week after screening and then u/s in the spring).  

 

https://www.uhhospitals.org/services/obgyn-womens-health/conditions-and-treatments/breast-health/mammography/fast-mri

Edited Monday at 09:17 AM by Kassia

[Ginevra]

On 9/28/2024 at 3:03 PM, SKL said:

That's interesting.  I wonder why that is?  I can't think of anyone I know who has had that happen.  I've lost several friends/relatives to lung cancer, but have few friends IRL who've fought breast cancer, and those that did had a family history.

Well it does happen. When I was dx’d, I was under age 50, in better-than-average health, exercise, never smoke or use drugs, healthy diet, low alcohol consumption (which is now virtually zero), and do not carry the BRACA gene. Early detection was everything, and I have small bOOKs. 
 

My SIL also was dx’d with a very aggressive form when she was barely 40. Small bOOks. No family history, no BRACA gene. 
 

I have mine annually, and I have extremely dense breasts. And it is a PITA. But I do it because I take nothing for granted and want to live for many more years. 
 

If nothing else, you should absolutely definitely do self exams. Pick a day like the first of the month and check comprehensively. 

[scholastica]

I think people are confused by the fact that with a family history, you are highly likely to get bc. That doesn’t mean with no or low family history you aren’t still at risk. The reason for the emphasis on family history is to make people with family history aware so they can make decisions and be vigilant.  It doesn’t mean the rest of us have drastically lower risk. 

[Heartstrings]

20 hours ago, SKL said:

Considering how easy it is nowadays to find out whether or not we have those dangerous breast cancer genes, shouldn't they come up with different recommendations for those with and without the gene(s)?

I think its another place where science communication is a problem.  We hear "breast cancer gene" and think, oh, if you have the gene you get breast cancer and if you don't have it you don't get it.  But that gene only accounts for a tiny percentage of breast cancer. I belive most people that get breast cancer don't have the gene.  We just don't know enough about genetics and cancer yet to say things definitivly.  The media is very poor at communicating scientific research and doctors aren't great about it either.  We shouldn't put too much faith in what we think we know about this stuff. 

 

ESPECIALLY for women's health issues!!  Women were only included in most medical studies in the last 50 years.  We might as well be an alien species as far as the medical community is concerned. 

[Faith-manor]

6 hours ago, Kassia said:

Our hospital system offers "fast breast MRI screening" for a fairly low OOP cost.  I never get them, but they have been recommended to me because I always have a call back due to extremely dense breast tissue (I'm going for a six month diagnostic next week after screening and then u/s in the spring).  

 

https://www.uhhospitals.org/services/obgyn-womens-health/conditions-and-treatments/breast-health/mammography/fast-mri

I really wish I had that available. Given that our insurance is worthless so everything is OOP at all times, this would be such a wonderful thing for me. If I had this, I would go every year!

[Faith-manor]

I also need to admit hear that part of my reluctance to do more than an u/s every 3-5 years is not just the run around, the financial, and the attitude of the general docs in this area. It is also due to the fact that I am currently absolutely crushed by the weight of an elderly mother and elderly mother in law. Between them, it is not uncommon for me to have 12 or more appointments a month that I have to drive them to, and it is just about impossible to schedule my own health in the middle of that. I have been waiting a year for an appointment withany dentist that doesn't conflict. Many of the specialists are an hour or more away, so I look at 3-4 hours driving plus their appointment time plus the very real possibility they won't be called back on time so those days are MUSH. I can't even think of having an appointment for myself. Mother in law is laid up right now with an injury from a fall, so I have added responsibilities. We don't have uber or Lyft here, and they are only entitled to 4 trips on the handicap bus per month which does not go to any of their specialists or mil's gp who is across the county line.

It means I neglect myself, and some of that is because mentally, I can't handle it. I just am the last person on earth who should ever deal with medical stuff (literally been known to get green around the gills just visiting someone in the hospital), and I am bulldozed by their medical problems. Mark isn't retired, 3 of my kids live 4 hrs away, 1 lives out of state with 3 little children, and Mark's siblings live 1400 miles away. My brother is one block from here, and refuses to be involved in any way, and my sister lives in France. It is all.on.me.

[KSera]

38 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

they are only entitled to 4 trips on the handicap bus per month

Oof, that’s terrible service. Even if they pay?  Sorry to hear. 

[J-rap]

I get mammograms every year.  Breast cancer runs in my family (my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all had it).  We do not have the main breast cancer gene, but obviously have some undiscovered predisposition to it.  However, it seems to be a slower-growing cancer, not the super aggressive ones.  My breasts are also very dense.  I get a breast MRI every year too.  A regular preventative yearly mammogram even due to carefully following or high-risk should be still be covered by insurance, from what I've been told.  It's when a a second one is required in the same year that it becomes diagnostic.  It sounds like not all clinics are handling it that way though, which is really disappointing.

The MRI is always costly, and I sometimes now only do that every other year.  It generally costs me up to $2,000.  

I only get my care at a breast clinic which does seem to handle everything correctly with insurance, and they're also very careful about comparing each mammogram and MRI with previous ones.  They actually seem to require less further procedures because they're so good at knowing what they're looking at the first time around.

[prairiewindmomma]

Can I give you permission to let your appointments be the priority? Being a martyr to them serves none of you well. 
 

Schedule a late afternoon appointment for them and a morning for you. Get your stuff done in the specialist city. Odds are you will have more availability and better quality. A 3D mammo takes 15 minutes. They can sit in a wheelchair in a waiting room watching a video for that long.

Mark can also take two hours vacation so you can go to the dentist. Crises happen but routine dental care is likely to keep you from a root canal crisis later. 
 

You are every bit and more worthy of care than your MIL. 

[SKL]

I realize that the majority of breast cancer cases are not caused by that famous gene.  However, I understood that the ones not caused by that gene progress much more slowly, meaning that it isn't going to be devastating if you wait another year or so between mammograms.

From everything I've seen, for a post-menopausal woman who is not taking hormones, if she gets cancer, it will usually grow slowly and almost certainly have a good prognosis even if we wait another year or so to get a mammogram.

For younger women with breast cancer, the speed of growth tends to be higher.  So I guess that is why some of the recommendations include annual mammograms before menopause but biannual after.

I guess I'll look at what my new insurance will cover.  I don't love mammograms, but they aren't the end of the world either.

When I started this thread, I thought people were going to tell me that the current recommendation is less frequent than biannually.  😛

[scholastica]

22 hours ago, SKL said:

I realize that the majority of breast cancer cases are not caused by that famous gene.  However, I understood that the ones not caused by that gene progress much more slowly, meaning that it isn't going to be devastating if you wait another year or so between mammograms.

From everything I've seen, for a post-menopausal woman who is not taking hormones, if she gets cancer, it will usually grow slowly and almost certainly have a good prognosis even if we wait another year or so to get a mammogram.

For younger women with breast cancer, the speed of growth tends to be higher.  So I guess that is why some of the recommendations include annual mammograms before menopause but biannual after.

I guess I'll look at what my new insurance will cover.  I don't love mammograms, but they aren't the end of the world either.

When I started this thread, I thought people were going to tell me that the current recommendation is less frequent than biannually.  😛

They are not necessarily slower to progress. My friend’s bc is very aggressive. A 2.5 cm tumor surrounded by 6.4 cm cancerous mesh. She’d had a mammogram a year before and there was nothing there. 

[Laura Corin]

On 9/29/2024 at 10:24 PM, SKL said:

I'm so confused as to how so many people have had breast cancer with no family history.

Isn't family history a key risk factor?

What else is going on out there that is causing so many women to have breast cancer?

This discusses other factors. 

Breast Cancer Continues to Rise Among Younger Women, Study Finds https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/01/health/breast-cancer-young-women.html?unlocked_article_code=1.O04.Sson._Bh5nzzMLQya