Should I have spine surgery despite potential MRI restrictions after breast canc...

Is there a titanium/nonmetallic option for you?

I will ask my oncologist thanks

I have multiple hardware in my spine and am able to get an MRI. Mine is titanium. ❤️

Thanks I will talk to neurosurgeon about this option

I had cervical spine surgery and titanium is used as it is nonreactive with this metal.

Get a 2nd neurosurgeon opinion without hesitation. Never have spine surgery on 1s opinion, especially if they are talking about hardware. There also might be hardware that is not metal. New stuff comes out all the time for spine surgery. Good luck

I have a titanium pain pump implanted... I still get scans every 6 months. Without any hesitation... Do your research, and advocate for yourself. 😊

I worked for 4 neurosurgeons and they used titanium. If your doc says no, go find another doc immediately. You should have a second opinion anyway because this is your spine. Good luck

Hi! My husband had cervical spine surgery (fusion 2 levels). The hardware used in his surgery was titanium. He has been able to have MRI’s, after the surgery sometimes the hardware can cause artifacts on MRI (which can make that portion of his spine a bit more difficult to read on MRI.) He was having symptoms in his arms before surgery and they resolved with surgery. I would definitely recommend speaking with the neurosurgeon to clarify what material the hardware is made of. I hope you can get some relief.

Can you monitor recurrence with a blood biopsy such as a ctDNA blood draw by Signatera? I don’t know think it monitors crossing the blood brain barrier though. You can look at the EBLIS study results for monitoring ctDNA for recurrence and how it detects recurrence much earlier than radiologic scans. If you are stage 2B or higher, Medicare covers the costs for Signatera. There are even more blood biopsies that are being developed but the FDA has not finished investigating them.

This sounds like an incredibly difficult decision to navigate, especially when weighing the immediate risk to your mobility against future cancer monitoring needs. Many patients face similar challenging choices between different medical priorities. It might be helpful to ask your oncologist and neurosurgeon to discuss your case together, as they may know about alternative imaging options or newer surgical techniques that could work for your specific situation. The community here understands how overwhelming these crossroads can feel, and whatever decision feels right for your circumstances will have support here.