I just had a conversation with a doctor (Urologic Oncologist) about this however it was about prostate cancer. I’m female so this wasn’t about me - it was about my brother and his experience. When my brother’s urologist ordered an MRI the hospital called my brother to tell him that the pre-authorization from Blue Cross/Blue Shield was denied. He had to get a CT scan first. The oncologist told me that this was not necessarily a cost issue but rather CT scans are better at picking up changes in lymph nodes. After the CT which did show some areas of concern, the MRI was ordered. My brother did have prostate cancer and had surgery followed by radiation therapy and medication. He’s being followed by a urologic oncologist at Stanford so his sister (me) can breathe a sigh of relief for him.

I realize that this is going to be a different situation for our breasts. I too have dense breasts and have had three biopsies in the past (all negative). I too worry about breast cancer as I’m a cancer survivor of endometrial cancer so now I’m at more risk of breast cancer. What else do we have to do to advocate for ourselves? And like everyone else, I’m so tired of private insurance companies make decisions for our doctors.