Today was our first visit to an oncologist that had been set up by the doctor that did my biopsy. Tom and I went together figuring that between the two of us we could remember everything we wanted to ask. It’s amazing how many questions went unanswered and how many new ones came up after the appointment. We came away feeling completely overwhelmed with information that was both foreign and scary.
The doctor handed me a 3x5 index card that listed all of my cancer stats: Stage 1, Grade 2, Invasive Ductal, Estrogen-positive, progesterone-positive, HER2-positive. I was a bit surprised at how low tech her delivery of the information was with the index card and that she had written it in pencil suggesting that she wasn’t 100% sure of the diagnosis so she left herself room for re-thinking? Tom pointed out that we get a more technological analysis of the content of our pool water when we take samples to the pool store.
Anyway, she explained what some of the findings meant, but most I had to look up later at home. She recommended surgery to remove the tumor, radiation only if I chose to do the partial instead of the full mastectomy and chemo. We decided to get a second opinion. I’m not so sure we’ll hear anything different, but I know that I’ll always question her until I hear from another doctor.
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