1st Meeting With Onconolgist Surgeon since my news

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GeriBastian
GeriBastian Member Posts: 12
edited June 2014 in Just Diagnosed

Hi Everyone,

 Well it's been 2 weeks since my doctor called and gave me the results and I have been up and down since. I have learned a lot from this site. I have my first meeting tomorrow with the oncologist surgeon and they told me I would be there a couple hours. Can anyone shed some light on what I can expect tomorrow or should be asking. I'm nervous and a little scared.

Thanks

Geri

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited January 2014

    Hi Geri,

    We're sure some others here will have some great advice on what to expect and questions you should ask, but we thought we'd send along the main Breastcancer.org site's page on Questions to Ask Your Surgeon, for a starting point. We hope this helps!

    --The Mods

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  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 1,353
    edited January 2014

    try to take someone with you to help take notes and make sure you get all your questions answered. Try and get a phone number and/or email for your surgeon to ask more questions when they arise later , which they will! Get copies of all your reports to have among your paperwork. Dont let them rush you through the appointment.

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  • Dtowles
    Dtowles Member Posts: 4
    edited January 2014

    I had a great female surgeon as I picked a team of women. she wanted to talk  surgical options and examine your breast. I had chemo before surgery to try to minimize breath of surgery. She explained what each procedure entailed and allowed me to ask any questions I might have. she also explained what my film showed with regard to margins of surgery.  because I had nodes involved under my right arm, she talked about the drain which you have for about a week after the surgery...rids you of fluids that gather in under arm  and warned me about some possible side effects. I decided on lumpectomy simply because I think invasive surgery should be last on my to do list if possible . But that is totally a personal decision for you make. She explained how the surgery would go if you follow it with reconstruction ...I think its good to read discussions one blogs to help you gather info and it allows you to ask informed questions. If you have to go through this, rather than being fearful...load up on information...My scans did not provide conclusive info...I chose the conservative lumpectomy and my pathology report from the surgery..three weeks later was that I was cancer free...the chemo prior to surgery did the job...still doing preventive care to make sure all cancer stays Way...My surgeon was/ is fab. Morning of surgery she came and asked me what music I wanted played during surgery and I picked YoYo Ma's Silk Road CD... And she had it:)).  good luck and God bless!

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited January 2014

    Geri, how did your appointment go with the surgical oncologist?

    DTowles, is there a mistake in your diagnosis line?  It indicates that you had DCIS, but also mentions that you are Stage IIIa.  Pure DCIS is always Stage 0 so if the stage info is correct then I'm guessing that you had IDC (invasive cancer), along with some DCIS. It's common to find these two types of cancer together but when that happens, the diagnosis, staging and treatment plan is based on the IDC, which is the more serious condition.  The DCIS in effect becomes irrelevant and just goes along for the ride from a treatment standpoint (i.e. anything done for the IDC will be more than sufficient for the DCIS) except that the DCIS has to be surgically removed.  You also mention that you had chemo and "nodes involved under your right arm" (although your diagnosis line shows 0/8 on the nodes suggesting no nodal involvement) which again would suggest IDC rather than DCIS since DCIS cannot travel to the nodes, and chemo would not be prescribed for pure DCIS.  I just wanted to understand/clarify that, since newly diagnosed DCIS women might be confused by your treatment plan in the context of a DCIS diagnosis.

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