I just had my 1st test in October and it IS WORTH IT. They request a tissue sample from the hospital and they keep it on file to compare every 4 months to be sure if there is any cell movement.
My Dr. in Texas at MD Anderson (I live in Florida) uses it to monitor. It supposedly can see up to a year in advance any metastasizing .
Hi and thx for sharing! May I ask what stage you are? My MO is at Dana Farber and again said the Signatera is not "standard of care" - I have Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer which is often not picked up on mammograms - I got lucky - lumpectomy and radiation and letrozole now for 5-10 yrs. I wish I had asked for a baseline after surgery via Signatera but now that more data is out there I don't understand why so many oncologists won't help their patients - I understand insurance is a big component but some of us would like the information to minimize the constant anxiety of a reoccurrence. In the USA Medicare covers if stage 2 - I am technically stage 1, but grade 2 therefore just curious what stage you are - much appreciated. xo
Hi and thx for sharing! May I ask what stage you are? My MO is at Dana Farber and again said the Signatera is not "standard of care" - I have Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer which is often not picked up on mammograms - I got lucky - lumpectomy and radiation and letrozole now for 5-10 yrs. I wish I had asked for a baseline after surgery via Signatera but now that more data is out there I don't understand why so many oncologists won't help their patients - I understand insurance is a big component but some of us would like the information to minimize the constant anxiety of a reoccurrence. In the USA Medicare covers if stage 2 - I am technically stage 1, but grade 2 therefore just curious what stage you are - much appreciated. xo
I'm Stage 4 Metastatic BC. all within a year. The Doctor At MD Anderson ONLY uses Signaterra and not Tumor Markers to determine if the Cancer is on the move or not. I think it's well worth a simple blood test.
Hi
I asked for signatera and oncotype was refused both tests. I am er pr pis her2 neg stage 0. They said there was no point to the tests but didn't really explain why
Hi
I asked for signatera and oncotype was refused both tests. I am er pr pis her2 neg stage 0. They said there was no point to the tests but didn't really explain why
I have asked my oncologist multiple times for the test. He said it still isn’t proven and he also asked “what are you going to do with the information”! I said I wanted to know if something new was growing in my body.
I will be talking with a new oncologist in a few months about the flamingo trial (different hospital). I am going to see what they say!
I was HER2 *** and HER2. Negative in the SAME breast. Had a bilateral mastectomy.
I have asked my oncologist multiple times for the test. He said it still isn’t proven and he also asked “what are you going to do with the information”! I said I wanted to know if something new was growing in my body.
I will be talking with a new oncologist in a few months about the flamingo trial (different hospital). I am going to see what they say!
I was HER2 *** and HER2. Negative in the SAME breast. Had a bilateral mastectomy.
Hi
Makes no sense to me. I am in canada 🇨🇦 and my oncologist said my hospital wasn't in the trial. When it comes to women's health I don't think they give a crap.
Signatera doesn't really make sense for stage 0 / dcis. The oncos typically wont even order it for invasive disease unless its high risk with positive nodes and/or advanced. The thinking is that at stage 0, its not even invasive - so its literally still contained in the ducts. It didn't go anywhere so there is nothing to monitor for. Same logic applies even at stage 1 and often stage 2 invasive if its node negative, altho the risk goes up with stage for recurrence.
Oncotype is only to tell you if you need chemo. I'm not aware of anyone doing chemo for dcis, so being told no oncotype for stage 0 / dcis makes sense because again, there is no cancer in your body to use chemo against (assuming you had the stage 0 disease surgically removed). With all that said, there are some rare cases of stage 0 recurring many years later that I've read about but its supposed to be very unusual. And also, I dont think they understand yet how or why that can even happen so they don't have anything they can do for it.
Hi and thx for sharing! May I ask what stage you are? My MO is at Dana Farber and again said the Signatera is not "standard of care" - I have Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer which is often not picked up on mammograms - I got lucky - lumpectomy and radiation and letrozole now for 5-10 yrs. I wish I had asked for a baseline after surgery via Signatera but now that more data is out there I don't understand why so many oncologists won't help their patients - I understand insurance is a big component but some of us would like the information to minimize the constant anxiety of a reoccurrence. In the USA Medicare covers if stage 2 - I am technically stage 1, but grade 2 therefore just curious what stage you are - much appreciated. xo
Pink Lotus lets you order signatera directly through their website ($200 admin fee out of pocket). Its the same breast cancer clinic that Angelina Jolie went to - Dr Funk. She strongly believes that all women with breast cancer should have access to the test so she made it available, which is fantastic. And you're right - its not standard of care and the docs don't know what to do with early stage patients if Signatera comes back positive, which frankly I think is a poor reason not to offer it to patients because at least you can be aware and try to look at what your options are / start preparing.
Hi
I asked for signatera and oncotype was refused both tests. I am er pr pis her2 neg stage 0. They said there was no point to the tests but didn't really explain why
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Hi and thx for sharing! May I ask what stage you are? My MO is at Dana Farber and again said the Signatera is not "standard of care" - I have Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer which is often not picked up on mammograms - I got lucky - lumpectomy and radiation and letrozole now for 5-10 yrs. I wish I had asked for a baseline after surgery via Signatera but now that more data is out there I don't understand why so many oncologists won't help their patients - I understand insurance is a big component but some of us would like the information to minimize the constant anxiety of a reoccurrence. In the USA Medicare covers if stage 2 - I am technically stage 1, but grade 2 therefore just curious what stage you are - much appreciated. xo
I'm Stage 4 Metastatic BC. all within a year. The Doctor At MD Anderson ONLY uses Signaterra and not Tumor Markers to determine if the Cancer is on the move or not. I think it's well worth a simple blood test.
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Hug
2 ReactionsHi
I asked for signatera and oncotype was refused both tests. I am er pr pis her2 neg stage 0. They said there was no point to the tests but didn't really explain why
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Hug
1 ReactionI have asked my oncologist multiple times for the test. He said it still isn’t proven and he also asked “what are you going to do with the information”! I said I wanted to know if something new was growing in my body.
I will be talking with a new oncologist in a few months about the flamingo trial (different hospital). I am going to see what they say!
I was HER2 *** and HER2. Negative in the SAME breast. Had a bilateral mastectomy.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionHi
Makes no sense to me. I am in canada 🇨🇦 and my oncologist said my hospital wasn't in the trial. When it comes to women's health I don't think they give a crap.
Signatera doesn't really make sense for stage 0 / dcis. The oncos typically wont even order it for invasive disease unless its high risk with positive nodes and/or advanced. The thinking is that at stage 0, its not even invasive - so its literally still contained in the ducts. It didn't go anywhere so there is nothing to monitor for. Same logic applies even at stage 1 and often stage 2 invasive if its node negative, altho the risk goes up with stage for recurrence.
Oncotype is only to tell you if you need chemo. I'm not aware of anyone doing chemo for dcis, so being told no oncotype for stage 0 / dcis makes sense because again, there is no cancer in your body to use chemo against (assuming you had the stage 0 disease surgically removed). With all that said, there are some rare cases of stage 0 recurring many years later that I've read about but its supposed to be very unusual. And also, I dont think they understand yet how or why that can even happen so they don't have anything they can do for it.
Pink Lotus lets you order signatera directly through their website ($200 admin fee out of pocket). Its the same breast cancer clinic that Angelina Jolie went to - Dr Funk. She strongly believes that all women with breast cancer should have access to the test so she made it available, which is fantastic. And you're right - its not standard of care and the docs don't know what to do with early stage patients if Signatera comes back positive, which frankly I think is a poor reason not to offer it to patients because at least you can be aware and try to look at what your options are / start preparing.
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1 ReactionNOT acceptable. get a 2nd opinion.