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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : February 23, 2015 6:20 PM IST
My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and a lumpectomy was conducted in Jan 2005 at Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. She had undergone chemotherapy and cobalt therapy and she was on AEMIDEX for almost seven and half years. Is there any test which can indicate/confirm that she is completely cured of cancer ?
Answered by Dr Sumeet Shah
There is no 'foolproof' test to confirm that one is cured of cancer. And there is no need to do any test. Because, even if that test is normal presently, there is no guarantee that the cancer will not come back in future. Doing any of these tests on a 'routine' basis, without any symptoms, has not been shown to lengthen the life of a person with breast cancer All that is needed is regular follow up with your doctor at Tata Memorial Centre, as per the guidelines. Because, though the chances of a cancer coming back go on decreasing, as the number of years from treatment completion increase, the chances never come down to zero. Even for patients with very early stage breast cancer (stage 1) there is 5% chance of cancer coming back. So, as doctors, we never use the term 'cured'; we assume the patients to be 'cured' until the cancer comes back. There are many patients who regularly visit their doctor once a year, almost 15 to 20 years after their treatment of breast cancer. For all practical purposes, they are considered as 'cured'. Read why breast cancer is not preventable.
You can check out the cancer.net publication site for more information on care after breast cancer.
This link will tell you why certain tests are not recommended for regular follow up they must be done only at the discretion of the doctor, which is why the regular follow ups to the doctor are required. Read more about how catching the symptoms of breast cancer early is the only way for sucessful treatment.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
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