Do you order a post-lumpectomy mammogram before starting RT?
I get a new baseline mammogram prior to RT in patients who had calcifications associated with their cancer on their initial mammo. This enables me to be sure that all of the suspicious calcs have been removed. I will get this new mammo even if the path shows a neg margin, as pathology is an inexact ...
I have not been in the habit of getting a mammogram, because the patient is typically so uncomfortable, you often can't even get good images. The micro calcification issue raises a good point, but here's what I often find to be the problem. You do the repeat mammo, especially with clear margins, and...
In the era of image guided surgery, including better localization for surgery and obtaining specimen radiograph routinely, the value of pre RT mammogram is very limited.
I use it in pts presenting with significant microcalcifications where the final pathology margin for DCIS is close to rule out res...