Choosing a surgeon in NYV

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HRwinter16
HRwinter16 Member Posts: 73
edited January 2016 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

NYC not NYV (oops)

hello everyone, this is my first post. I was diagnosed two weeks ago after calcifications on my R breast were found and biopsied.

I had consults with two surgeons, dr Rache Simmons at NYP Cornell, and DR Debra Axelrod at NYU. I liked them both and am finding it difficult to decide who to move forward with. Their approach and treatment plan are similar. I will have lumpectomy vs mastectomy depending on results of another upcoming biopsy.

Any feedback regarding experience with the cancer centers at NYP or NYU would be appreciated. Thank you. Happy New Year!

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  • greenae
    greenae Member Posts: 540
    edited January 2016

    hi HR

    I am sorry you have to be here, but I welcome you. My dx was one year ago, and I have found BCO and all the women (and some men), on here to be so supportive and helpful.

    I was treated at NYU, and Dr Axelrod is my BS. I have no complaints, and have been Very happy with my team, (BS, MO, and PS), and the Perlmutter Center. They were my first, and only opinion, as I had read about Dr Axelrod, and have had family treated and hospitalized at NYU, and as an RN, I was impressed. (And I worked at NYH-Cornell, in the 80's).

    I wish you good luck with your choices and treatments. I think both centers are probably equally as good; you should be comfortable with your docs and plan. Ask me and anyone on BCO anything! We are here for you and each other. I would say most of us agree that the time between dx and treatment beginning,is probably the hardest. You are already on a good path .

    Happy New Year...we should get some sleep! ;)

    Hugs from nyc,

    Arlene


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  • HRwinter16
    HRwinter16 Member Posts: 73
    edited January 2016

    Thanks Greenae, your feedback and support is much appreciated!!

    ;)

    H.

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  • mjh1
    mjh1 Member Posts: 445
    edited January 2016

    Sorry u have to b here but BCO is filled with tons of info from many amazing women. You didn't say whether you will also b having reconstruction after lumpectomy. If so u my want to meet the PS that either of these doctors work with b4 u decide. While having a good BS is important, it is even more!important to have a very skilled PS to do your reconstruction. I personally didn't like the atmosphere at Weill Cornell and I just went there for a second opion with a PS. I ultimately chose Dr. Choi at NYU to do my second revision and she did an amazing job. I havent met anyone one here that.wasn't pleased with the BS or PS at NYU.

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  • greenae
    greenae Member Posts: 540
    edited January 2016

    mjh1

    I am so glad you are happy with Dr. Choi. I need some fat grafting from Dr. Karp, and am anticipating good results. Just hoping I won't need too much recovery time. Hoping all is good with you!

    Arlene

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  • HRwinter16
    HRwinter16 Member Posts: 73
    edited January 2016

    thanks for the info mjh and greenae-

    so I'm still not sure if it's going to be mastectomy or lumpectomy actually - I had an MRI guided biopsy in three areas of concern in right breast bc initial MRI showed more than the one spot initially biopsied. So it may end up mastectomy. I should know within next few days.Yes I will want to have the plastic surgeon reconstruction too.

    Who did you use as your ongoing oncologist at NYU after the surgery? I'm still undecided on which hospital for the surgery...

    So overwhelmed and I think my difficulty making a decision with this is just a manifestation of how freaked out I am ...

    And I guess on some level I'm scared of making the "wrong" choice, even though I'm pretty sure there is no wrong choice and I'll be in good hands no matter what - but the whole process is scary and feels so out of my control. And then this one aspect of it actually IS in my control, and yet I don't want the responsibility of making that decision, for some reason. I feel like I'm going crazy!!!


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  • greenae
    greenae Member Posts: 540
    edited January 2016

    hi H

    It is completely normal to feel "freaked" by all of this. But you can and will do it, and it will get easier once your plan is in place. Ask your doc for some ativan to get through rough nights. I take 0.5mg if I can't sleep, or am worried about a test or procedure. Once my treatment began I realized the anxiety was the worst part of all of this. The surgeries and chemo were not as tough as I had been anticipating. And the care I received from my team was impressive.

    Add your dx and path results to your profile and you may get more specific answers and infofrom others on BCO. Everyone here is very supportive. I spent many hours on here after I was first diagnosed.

    As for oncologist, I go to Dr Myers at NYU. She and her NP, Thelma, are Wonderful. They answer all of my questions, and are caring and easy to talk with. Any calls I have made to them were answered promptly. I am Very Happy with my team at NYU. Go with your gut and who you feel most comfortable with. Ask me anything. Good luck with your decisions and plan. You really will feel better once things start to happen. I wrote out an answer to you previously and sonehow deleted it when i tried to send from my fone. I hope this answer helps you.

    Hugs

    Arlene

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  • HRwinter16
    HRwinter16 Member Posts: 73
    edited January 2016

    thanks so much Arlene, really appreciate your feedback and support!

    Xo

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  • RAK1
    RAK1 Member Posts: 240
    edited January 2016

    HRwinter16

    I am sorry you have to be here! {{HUGS}}

    My dx was 12/31/2015

    You will find a great deal of support from the ladies in this forum. There is also a great wealth of knowledge from BCO and the ladies here.

    If you ever want someone to chat with you can PM me.

    Praying for nothing but the best for you!

    P.S. these two ladies that have already responded are wonderful women, we have gone through the last year together!

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  • Rmd3659
    Rmd3659 Member Posts: 1
    edited January 2016

    Hi, I used Dr. Guth at NYU. Very happy with her. I am pleased with all of my treatments I have received there. Just had a mammogram and sonogram and all is well. Had rads there as well.

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