Are you monitored regularly?

[kuulei04]

I decided to go with healing naturally and started that journey in mid-April.  Since around that time I have not had any imaging done (ultrasounds).  For those of you who are also taking a natural approach, how often do you get new ultrasounds done, maybe just to check up on your mass?  

And for those who are taking meds, how often have you got imaging done?  

For me, it's been about almost 5 months and I'm wondering if I should just check up on it. My original mass has decreased in size significantly, but I have developed smaller masses in other parts of my affected breast.   Of course no one here has ever dealt with GM before so all of my doctors are clueless.  
Hope everyone is doing well and managing!

[kailooa]

Hi, I was just diagnosed a month ago and the surgeon told me to come back for a mammogram in 6 months.  Otherwise I have no monitoring planned.  She told me to come back in if I develop an abscess that needs lancing but that she recommends no needles or knives unless absolutely necessary.  Since then I have developed two abscess pockets on the skin that are draining bloody fluid through the needle biopsy hole.

[Veronica36]

Hi! Good morning! I have Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging every 6 months..and ecography, every time I ask for it..every 1 or 2 months.
My GM breast got better a month ago, and now I have a big lump turning into an abscess!
One of these days I will take a picture of my breast and post it here...in the last 12 months I provably had around 10 abscesses!
Have a good day!

[ruostentatious]

I'm taking medication and have found that I get u/s done:

- when there is a new initial lump (I normally get only one lump/affected area)
- if the lump increases dramatically in size for a period of time
- *if I am going to have surgery or biopsy (I try to avoid biopsies, it gives the area a drainage tract all the way through the skin, if it doesn't already have one)
- a couple weeks post surgery (and then around monthly post surgery for a few months to monitor)
- Once the flare up has "resolved", to make sure.

I again, have never gotten several affected areas at once. My GM is contained to a single spot/lump/drainage site/whatever, but once I get one, it usually sticks around for a lengthy time!