Detecting cancer in women with dense breasts: MRI?

20 years ago I attended a conference on breast cancer. A very respected cancer surgeon said that MRI was the best method to detect breast cancer. It's all about the $$$$, unfortunately.

Hello everyone. My radiation (left breast lumpectomy) ended on Jan 5th after 15 treatments, followed by 4 "boosts". The breast felt hot for a long time, and even now, almost 3 months later, it still feels considerably warmer than the right breast. My first questions are about this heat.... Is this normal and have others experienced it? How much longer will it last?

Next...... I've developed a brown mark or mole about 1 cm diameter....on the bottom of the breast in the vicinity where the lump was removed which would also be where the boosts were aimed. I'm going back to the radiologist for my last appointment next week and will have him look at it. My GP saw it yesterday and wants to remove it soon. I've read that radiated tissue does not heal well. Should I let the GP remove it? Should I have a dermatologist look at it? Any ideas, please.

Thanks to anyone who has experience with similar issues and takes the time to respond. (in case it's relevant, I'm on Anastrozole, had a Zometa infusion, Onco score of 27 but have not taken chemo.
Thank you so very much. If I'm not posting in the right group, please direct me to where I should post.

Not at all surprising to me!

Jaynep I feel compelled to reply, as I was diagnosed in Oct ‘22 ONLY because they did an MRI. Nothing showed up on my last mammo from ‘21. My sister was diagnosed in September of ‘22 so I called my Dr and she said it put me in a high risk group bc my sister is under 50. Lo and behold the MRI showed a fairly large area of cancer which the subsequent biopsy confirmed as Triple Negative Invasive ductal carcinoma. The radiologist said it WOULD NOT have shown up on a mammogram, because I have dense breast tissue- which I had never been told before. He said maybe after the fact because he knew what he was looking for would it be evident. So please do advocate for yourself. Since my experience I fully believe every woman should have a breast MRI with contrast, as that is how the cancer was found in my case. I would still be walking around thinking I was fine if my sister didn’t get diagnosed and if my Doctor hadn’t responded the way she did.

Thank you for your reply. I did call my surgeon’s office and was fortunate to speak to the young lady who does scheduling for my particular surgeon in the group. I got a call the next day from the cancer center and a MRI was schedule for me. Medicare says they will pay for it-we’ll see about that-bit I feel so much better. I agree with you about walking around thinking you were okay. The radiologist told me the tumor had probably been growing for two years. I also wasn’t told I have what they called heterogenously dense breasts. It does cause me to wonder if I’d had a MRI instead of a mammogram earlier perhaps I wouldn’t have hadn’t to have a mastectomy-that maybe the cancer would have just been in the tumor. But I am grateful it was caught early at stage 1. I hope you and your sister are doing well. 🌹

I Saks advocated for MRI and it likely saved my life… but not my breast. Wish I had been on to this years ago! But… I’m here now and both my daughters will go forward with MRI s!

Absolutely. That is how my cancer was found. MRIs My mammogram did not show anything. Had a mastectomy in 2019. I now have mammo with alternating MRIs every 6 months. Blessings to you all

I SELF advocated ( not Saks) tried to correct but don’t know how. Sorry

Exactly what I am doing. So far my one year MRI was negative. 🙏🌸🙏

Yes. I have very dense and cystic breasts and they follow me every 6 months. That is why they do the 3D mammogram. It sees more then traditional scans. And I get bilateral sonograms to make sure the breasts are stable. Look at the bottom of the scans report. They grade via Birads. That should give you an indication of what is happening as well as the doctor.

Ps: I had an MRI a few years back. It showed up all white so they could not tell much b/c of that.

Best of luck.