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Circulating tumor cells to determine risk of recurrence
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Sep 20 3:40pm | Replies (41)Comment receiving replies
My oncologist says they only used them to monitor stage 4. I am honestly not sure how we ever know we are in stage 4 !
Replies to "My oncologist says they only used them to monitor stage 4. I am honestly not sure..."
Chiming in here, as I am sure you are not the only one who wonders this.
Stage 4 is when the cancer is detected away from the original region. As an example, I was Stage 3b because it was in the breast, lymph nodes in armpit, chest wall, and skin.
If they had found it in my blood, lungs, farther lymph nodes, or another organ it would have been Stage 4.
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I was Stage 2 , had surgery and now mos. 16 on AI. Established with Signatera in April ( negative) and on 6 mos. Schedule.
This technology is gaining traction rapidly. Some say they don’t know what to do with a positive result… that said… my oncologist said she would be looking towards the Meds that target metastatic BC for early intervention if signatera were to show a positive result.
This technology appears to be on a fast track for research on application strategies. It was first used for colon cancer so it’s not JUST arriving in the cancer arena.