My first surgery experience in the Canadian medical system

At the time of my diagnosis we were living in the Caribbean, and through my husband's job we had US medical coverage. When I found out I had cancer (stage IV) I immediately came back home to Canada, to start treatment. Because I wasn't a resident anymore, I had to wait 3 months before my medical would kick back in again....so instead I used the US medical coverage we had, and crossed the border into Washington (Bellingham) for my treatments. I had all of my surgeries (lumpectomy, ax. node dissection, hysterectomy) done in Seattle.

Now, 3.5 years later I'm going ahead with the final phase of my treatment plan, which is to have a bilateral mastectomy with tissue expanders, and eventual implants. I'm a bit nervous about the whole surgery experience, and wonder how it will differ from my previous surgeries in the US.

I'll be at Surrey Memorial - my surgeon is Dr. Doris and my plastic surgeon is Dr. Rizwan Mian. It's only three weeks away, and I hope that it will be a positive experience, and the surgery will be a success.

I'll be sure to share afterwards my thoughts on comparing the two systems (US vs. Canada)!