I've mentioned a few times how hard the decisions you're asked to make are once you go down the (breast) canser path. Thankfully for me - and for thousands of others - there is a non profit group in Calgary called Breast canser Supportive Care who are there to help you with your decisions.
I saw them last week and they are fabulous. I had a meeting with Dr Taylor, who herself is a breast canser survivor. She used to work with my oncologist, Dr Stewart. Ya, what are the chances??
We had 1.5 hours allotted for whatever we wanted to talk about. My Mom and Phil came too. We basically covered off the chemo treatment "issue" of 6 vs. 8 as well as my surgery decision of a double mastectomy.
Because they did an intake interview previously, she already had the background info on my situation as well as all my charts and copies of all my tests and ultrasounds. So we didn't have to waste any precious time on that. She listened to my concerns about ensuring I get the right number of treatments while avoiding treatments for the sake of treatments. I don't want to be a round peg being pushed into a square hole.
Basically she reassured me that Dr Stewart is not the kind of oncologist to do something for the sake of doing it. She ramped up my trust in him by talking about what he's like on rounds and how he questions stuff. She also talked about how the oncologists in Alberta can't go "cowboy" - they are on a pretty tight leash and there are pretty regulated protocols that they must follow. She also talked (very highly) about his knowledge and expertise. Because of that conversation - which was echoed by my navigation nurse Edith - I now have full confidence in whatever he decides is best. If he wants to do 8 rounds, I will happily do 8. If he thinks 6 is good, I'll happily agree.
I'm hanging up the boxing gloves and putting my trust - and my life - in his extremely capable hands. I can't tell you what a weight that is that has been lifted off my shoulders. I still feel like an active part of this team, but when you trust the rest of your team 100% it makes a huge mental difference. Cause I am no expert - and I never wanted to be. And now I have complete faith in the canser expert on my team.
After the chemo/Dr Stewart chat we moved on to my surgery decision. Here I was a little nervous. I was pretty definitive in my decision to have the double mastectomy. I felt my thought process was solid in making that decision. But I know some camps think double mastectomy's are too extreme in some cases. So I was not sure what Dr Taylor would think.
So I filled her in on my 3 options - breast conservation, single mastectomy or double mastectomy. I walked her through my reasons for wanting a double and what the surgeon explained about all 3.
After basically re-iterating that the stats say any of those options is good choice, she told me she would support either of those options. Because my main goal is to not ever have to go through this again, she thinks a double is a good choice for me. I think she also thought my thought process was sound. She did offer to "rush" my genetic testing ( to see if I carry the breast canser gene). Her reason was incase this might help me make my decision. I got a letter from the genetics people a few weeks back saying they would like to see me in 6-12 months. You have a meeting with the geneticist and they see if you qualify for the test. What that means is they do a pretty detailed family history (while also taking into account all the canser details of your case) to see if you are considered "at risk" or have a likelihood to be carrying the gene. She said many women don't even get tested if they find out they qualify cause that is enough info for them to make their decision. For me, I'll still get tested likely (if I qualify) but my goal is already to reduce my risk for future so it doesn't really matter if I have the gene or not. However, if I had been more on the fence about my decision this would have been a huge help. So I felt even better about my decision after we chatted.
We lightly touched on the radiation treatment that will come after surgery. She recommended to do whatever they recommend cause it's all mathematical and they will recommend the optimal choice for me. Sounds good to me. The radiation oncologist that I have my 1st consult with on Aug 15 is one of her favourites - a fantastic, smart woman named Dr Trotter. So I felt even better!
All in all it was so worth going to talk to her. She told me to tell all the docs to copy her on all future tests etc as her team will follow me as well, I believe for the next 5 years. I feel more at peace with my decision and my team. That is a true gift she gave me - peace of mind has been a tough one to find along my journey. For that I am extremely grateful.
So I am now going into my last chemo treatment(s) and am good if its 1 more or 3 more. Surgery will still be daunting (it's surgery!!) but I feel I have made the best choice for me. And for my family. And those who love me. I have zero doubt now.
Huge Silver Lining.
If you find yourself on this journey, please consider going to BCSC. They have become an invaluable part of my team.
Thank you Dr Taylor. I'm a lucky girl.
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