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