A New Team, A New Perspective Flashback to March 17th, 2010

We took the doctor’s opinion and got a second opinion and went to Dana Farber. Dana Farber is overwhelming in itself. Unlike the first hospital, this place was crowded with cancer patients, all ages, colors, and stages. Each floor had it’s own cancer specialty, but everywhere you looked you knew you were looking at a cancer patient or supporter. This waiting room had a much younger crowd mixed in with the “older” women. Many in wigs and scarves, even some men too.

So we waited our turn and met the surgeon, Dr. Gadd, who explained how her surgery would be very safe of the baby, and the scaring would be minimal since she liked to make the incision around the areola. The surgery will be to remove the small lump and a margin of tissue around the lump. They will check the margins and hope for “clear margins” meaning cancer wasn’t spreading out more in one or two directions and they “got it all”. They would also remove a couple of lymph nodes from my arm pit to test if the cancer cells have traveled into the lymphatic system. Both these will help with the “staging” of my breast cancer. Again, this surgery, even though I will be under anesthesia and receive radioisotopes, will be safe for the baby.

After a quick walk during lunch we met with Dr. Partridge, the medical oncologist who specializes in patients under 42 years old. Even though she was relatively young for a doctor, in her 11 years experience she had seen more the 400 women who were pregnant while battling breast cancer. 400 women in 11years, pregnant with breast cancer in the New England area alone, I guess I am not that unique! She knows what she is doing and that is reassuring. And all I needed to know to make my decision to go with her and the rest of the Dana Farber team.

Slow down, and breathe… March 15th, 2010

As Larry and I were driving to yet another day at the doctors we questioned if moving so fast to have surgery was the right decision. It had only been 5 days. We didn’t even have a second opinion. But when you hear “Cancer” you think death, act fast and get it out of your body! We met with the medical oncologist, the chemo specialist. After another full 2 hours of cancer explanations she gave me the best advice and news of the week. Hold off on the surgery; give yourself some time to breathe. One week or two will not change anything. Ahhhh. Her news, she didn’t see why we had to decide about radiation or pregnancy and mastectomy. Chemo would happen before any of this. And maybe neither choice will be needed. There is no increase in your survival if you terminate your pregnancy. Go get a second opinion. So we did. And a better outlook was given.