Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Follow-up and screening after a mastectomy | CION Cancer Clinics
Follow-up after a mastectomy means regular clinic visits where the chest wall, scar and armpits are examined, plus a mammogram of the remaining breast once a year. The mastectomy side is not mammographed, because there is no breast tissue left to X-ray. Routine scans and blood tests are not part of it when you feel well. This page explains what is checked, how often, and which symptoms should not wait. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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The short answer
What does follow-up after a mastectomy actually involve?
Follow-up after a mastectomy means regular clinic visits where your surgeon or oncologist examines the chest wall, the scar and both armpits, and a mammogram of the remaining breast once a year. There is no routine mammogram of the mastectomy side, because the breast tissue is no longer there to X-ray.
Why the visits are mostly examination
Most recurrences (the cancer coming back) on the chest wall are found by feeling, either by you or by the doctor, not by a scan. So the visit is built around a careful check of the skin, the scar, the armpit and the neck, plus questions about any new symptom that has lasted more than a couple of weeks.
What is not done routinely
Whole-body scans, PET-CT, chest X-rays and blood tumour markers are not part of routine follow-up when you feel well. Large studies have shown they do not change the outcome, and they produce false alarms that lead to more tests. They are ordered when a symptom or an examination finding needs explaining.
This is the schedule for someone who has finished treatment and is well. If you are still on chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone tablets, those teams see you on their own timetable as well.Mammograms explained
Do you still need a mammogram after a mastectomy?
It depends on what was removed and whether anything was put in its place. Four situations cover almost everyone.
One breast removed
Yes. The other breast has the same risk factors as the one that had cancer, so it is X-rayed once a year. Your team may add an ultrasound if the breast tissue is dense.
Tell the centre
- Which side had the mastectomy
- The date of your last mammogram
The mastectomy side
No routine mammogram. The chest wall is checked by hand at each visit. If a lump or skin change is found, an ultrasound or a biopsy (a small tissue sample) is arranged for that spot.
Both breasts removed
No routine mammograms at all. Follow-up is examination of both sides of the chest, the armpits and the neck, and your own monthly check of the skin and scars at home.
A double mastectomy does not remove every cell, so the examinations still matter.After reconstruction
An implant or a flap is not X-rayed routinely either. Any lump felt on top of or beside a reconstruction is checked with ultrasound or MRI. The other breast, if you still have it, is mammographed as usual.
Ask your surgeon
- Whether your implant needs its own check
- What a normal flap should feel like
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistThe typical schedule
How often are you seen, and for how long?
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The wound check
A visit within the first few weeks to remove the drain if it is still in, look at the wound and go through the pathology report. This is where the rest of the treatment plan is confirmed.
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The first two to three years
Visits are closest together now, typically every three to six months, because this is when a recurrence is most likely to appear. Each visit is an examination and a conversation. The yearly mammogram of the other breast runs alongside.
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Years three to five
Visits spread out, often to every six months and then once a year. If you are on hormone tablets, this is also when side effects such as joint pain, hot flushes and bone thinning are reviewed.
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After five years
Many centres move to a yearly visit or hand routine follow-up to your family doctor, with an open door back to the clinic. The yearly mammogram continues as long as you are well enough to be treated if something is found.
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For life
Checking your own chest wall, scar and armpit once a month never stops. Neither does reporting a new symptom without waiting for the next appointment.
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Do not wait for the next appointment if you notice these
A new lump or thickening on the scar or chest wall, a red patch or sore near the scar that does not settle, a new swelling under the arm or above the collarbone, a bone pain that stays in one place and wakes you at night, breathlessness or a cough that lasts, or a headache that is new and persistent. Ring the clinic or the helpline and ask for an earlier visit. Most of these turn out to be something else, but they are the things follow-up exists to catch.
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Commonly believed
Four things families ask about follow-up, and what is true
"The breast is gone, so mammograms are finished."
Only for the side that was removed. The other breast still needs its yearly mammogram, and it is the test most often skipped by people who feel well. Book it on the same date each year so it does not slip.
"A full-body scan every six months would be safer."
It feels safer, but studies comparing scan-heavy follow-up with examination-based follow-up found no difference in how people did. Scans in someone who feels well mostly find harmless shadows that need more tests and cause weeks of worry.
"A blood test for tumour markers will tell us if it is back."
Markers such as CA 15-3 can be raised without cancer and normal with it. They are not used to check well patients for this reason. Your oncologist may use them in other situations, and will say so.
"After five years, it is over."
Five years is a milestone, not a finish line. Some breast cancers, especially hormone receptor positive ones, can return later than that. The visits become fewer, but the yearly mammogram and the monthly self-check continue.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you your own schedule. The gaps between visits depend on the stage and type of your cancer, the treatments you had, and whether you are on hormone tablets. Your team writes the timetable, and it is reasonable to ask for it on paper before you leave the clinic.
It cannot tell you the chance of the cancer returning
That comes from your own pathology report, the receptor results and the treatment you completed, read together by your oncologist. Ask the question directly at a follow-up visit, and ask what would change if the answer were different.
What to bring, and what to say
Bring the last mammogram report and films, your medicine list, and a note of anything new since the last visit, however small. Say if you have stopped a hormone tablet or are missing doses because of side effects. Your team can often change the drug or help with the side effect, but only if they know.
If you have moved district, or your original surgeon is no longer available, the helpline can set up follow-up at a CION centre and tell you which reports to carry.Questions we are asked
Common questions about follow-up after mastectomy
Can a mammogram be done on the mastectomy side at all?
Usually not in a useful way. A mammogram needs breast tissue to compress and X-ray, and after a mastectomy there is only skin and muscle over the ribs. If something is felt on that side, an ultrasound or MRI of the spot gives a clearer answer, followed by a biopsy if needed.
How often should the other breast be mammographed?
Once a year is the usual advice, starting about a year after the operation or after treatment finishes. Some centres add an ultrasound when the breast is dense. If you are young or carry a gene change such as BRCA, your team may suggest MRI as well. Follow the interval your own team sets.
What does the doctor check at a follow-up visit?
The scar and the skin of the chest wall, both armpits, the area above the collarbones and the other breast. You will be asked about pain, breathlessness, cough, headaches, arm swelling and how you are coping with any tablets. Blood tests and scans are added only when something needs explaining.
Should I check my own chest wall at home?
Yes, once a month, in front of a mirror and then lying down. Run your fingers over the scar and the skin around it, then into the armpit and up to the collarbone. You are looking for a new lump, thickening, a red patch or a sore. Get to know what normal feels like so a change stands out.
Why does nobody order a PET-CT to make sure it is gone?
Because in someone who feels well it does not improve how they do, and it often finds harmless spots that lead to biopsies and weeks of fear. Guidelines from cancer bodies around the world advise against routine scans for this reason. A scan is ordered when a symptom or an examination finding calls for one.
I am on hormone tablets. Does that change follow-up?
It adds to it. Aromatase inhibitors can thin the bones, so a bone density scan is arranged at intervals your team sets. Tamoxifen calls for reporting any unusual vaginal bleeding straight away. Never stop or change the tablet on your own; tell the clinic about side effects and they will adjust the plan.
Can my follow-up be done near my district instead of in the city?
Often, yes. Routine examinations can be done at a closer centre, with the yearly mammogram wherever there is a machine, and the reports shared with your oncologist. Ask your team which visits must be with them and which can be local. The helpline can tell you which CION centre is nearest.
Are follow-up visits and mammograms covered by Aarogyasri or insurance?
Cover varies. Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS are accepted, and most cashless insurers are empanelled, but a routine follow-up mammogram is sometimes treated differently from treatment itself. Call the helpline with your card details and we will check what your scheme covers before you travel.
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
- NICE — Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management (NG101)
- American Cancer Society — Breast cancer
- Cancer Research UK — Breast cancer
- National Cancer Institute — Breast cancer
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Breast cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Chest Wall Recurrence After MastectomyWhat a recurrence on the scar or chest wall looks likeThe Mastectomy Scar: What It Looks Like Over TimeWhat is normal for a healing scar, so a change stands outPreventing Lymphoedema After MastectomyArm swelling is one of the things each visit checksRecovery, Eating and Getting Back to LifeThe months after surgery, beyond the clinic visitsBreast cancer guideThe full CION breast cancer section
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Not sure what your follow-up should look like?
Send us your operation and pathology reports, or call the helpline. A surgical oncologist will set out a follow-up plan with you and tell you which visits can be done closer to home.