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Article Series: Cancer
Help Me Understand Cancer
How
To Find a Breast Cancer Specialist That's Right For You
If you just discovered that you have breast
cancer, it is perfectly normal to be in a state of shock. But
you must keep positive and remember:
- Something
can be done! This is a difficult problem, but it is possible
to deal with it. A program can be devised that
will help.
- Breast
cancer is certainly not an illness one would choose to have,
but it does respond to treatment.
- The
most productive attitude for both the doctor and the patient
is to approach the illness with a determined and optimistic
pragmatism.
After the shock, faced with the knowledge that you have breast
cancer, you have to be as smart as you can be. First, consider
again whether the doctor who has presented you with the diagnosis
is the right one to continue taking care of you. At this point,
many insurance companies require a second opinion, before any
further surgery. Even if your policy does not have that restriction,
you should consider whether you want to seek that second opinion.
Find someone whose attitude, skill, and compassion
allow him to say to you, verbally or through his reputation
and demeanor, "I
care about you. I am here to help you. I can do it well. There
is hope."
You should feel, after your search, your consultation,
and your deliberation, "You are the one I have decided to
trust. I will participate in all decisions, but I want you
to be my ombudsman, an expert with whom I can share the responsibility
for evaluating and treating my illness." If you cannot
enter into a relationship with a doctor feeling confident about
both those declarations, look elsewhere.
Some of the considerations here are psychological, some medically
significant. Whichever factors you want to assess, you should
move with all deliberate speed - but you should not, even at
this point, rush into a hasty decision.
A
sensible goal is to have treatment under way within three
to four weeks after diagnosis. Is it dangerous to wait that
long? The answer is straightforward: Though growth rates for
different types of breast cancer can vary, there is no evidence
of a measurable change for any of them in a period of three
or four weeks.
If you have selected a surgeon and then are told he cannot
operate for a week or two, that is probably fine. Most surgeons
will try to schedule your procedure as soon as possible. Excellent
surgeons are bound to be busy, but it is almost certainly worth
waiting a short time for a surgeon with both superior technical
skill and sound judgment.
In
fact, there is a tricky point to consider: If a breast specialist
can take you right away, it is legitimate
to wonder
if he is busy enough to be the right person for you. Surgeons
who have excellent track records, judgment, and experience
are almost certain to have crowded schedules, and will rarely
be able to operate immediately. Under most circumstances, they
are also worth waiting for, not only because, in the language
of the trade, they know "how to cut," they also know "what
to cut."
Scheduling
an operation may also take a little longer if two surgeons
are needed, as when reconstruction is
done immediately
after a mastectomy. Nonetheless, getting through the waiting
period, or the period in which you are making your choices
and decisions, can be very difficult. Some women rush to
action. They want to get the whole thing over with, to get
the cancer
out of their bodies as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Other women can get stuck in conflicting advice, getting
so much information that they unnecessarily complicate what
might
otherwise be a fairly simple procedure. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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