Actor Dipika Kakar undergoes mammography: Do women cancer survivors need to continue their mammograms?

Indian Express

15-07-2025

Television actor Dipika Kakar, who is documenting her recovery journey after her liver cancer diagnosis and surgery, has now revealed that she underwent mammography to rule out any changes in her breast tissue. She says she did this because earlier in the year, before her liver cancer diagnosis, a mammography had revealed enlarged lymph nodes in her left breast. So she wanted to be sure. Do those in cancer therapy need to do mammography simultaneously?
In a vlog, Kakar says that she consulted the doctor after she developed pain on her left side. Her first mammogram showed enlarged lymph nodes, which can arise from various reasons, including infection. Her doctor had said then that it didn't look suspicious but it would be good to do a repeat scan after three months. Other doctors said the pain could be the result of a muscle injury. She mentioned how, because of her surgery and her recovery, her time to get the mammography done had exceeded three months. Now the mammography has shown that her lymph nodes had shrunk.
'Women cancer survivors need to watch out for spread or recurrence once they are on follow-up therapy protocol. And that's why a mammogram is advised. Generally, we do not advise mammography alongside PET scan (which assesses spread, metastasis and treatment response) because any anomaly would automatically be picked up by the latter. We do not suggest it for all liver cancer survivors either without assessing individual cases and risks. But in cases of breast cancer, some survivors may be suggested to undergo mammography surveillance even while undergoing PET scans,' says Dr Jeyhan Dhabhar, consultant, medical oncology, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.
No matter where you develop cancer, you need surveillance through imaging tests of the breast. Unless the woman is a breast cancer survivor, we suggest mammograms to women survivors of other cancers only after they have completed their treatment protocol. Once they are on routine follow-up, we suggest mammography once in 12 to 18 months, the same as we advise any woman over the age of 45.
However if the women are BRCA-positive, then there is a different screening protocol even if they develop cancer in any other part of the body.
BRCA-positive women have a higher lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers due to inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Women with BRCA1 mutations have a 72% lifetime risk of breast cancer, while those with BRCA2 mutations have a 69% risk. Ovarian cancer risk also increases.
So if a BRCA-positive woman has recovered from cancer in another part of the body, we recommend breast sonography once in six months and an MRI breast once in six months for monitoring purposes. Breast ultrasound uses sound waves to create images and are often used to further investigate abnormalities found during mammograms.
Once they are through with the treatment protocol, they should because mammograms can tell you about breast tissue anomalies or new growth. While breast cancer can sometimes spread to the liver, liver cancer does not directly increase the risk of breast cancer.
You need to screen for new growth. Especially if you've only had one breast removed, you should be screening the other breast to rule out abnormal tissue growth.