Topic: Presby in Texas

Yes you have time, time to decide if this is the team you want to provide your care and time to get a second opinion on your test results and treatment protocols.  This is one of those times when a second opinion should be a matter of course. 

Since you are in Texas, you might want to have your results reviewed by MD Anderson in Houston.  That is what I did though I'm opting for treatment closer to home.....the drive down has been a major challenge.  I got all my additional testing done there so I've had to go several times.  Call an talk to one of the intake counselors, can't hurt.

Well Liane another Texas Sister has joined us.  LJ so sorry you have had to join us but you have come to the right place.

The cancer maze is a difficult one to get through but you will get through it.  We are here to help you.  Liane and  I are both traveling through and I am getting ready to start my chemo. 

Some decisions are harder than others, but peace of mind at the end is what you need.  I am still sad regarding the chemo but I have made my peace and am ready to get going with it.

Keep in touch and when you have a difficult day post a note and we will give you encouragement.

Hugs

Juannelle

Presby-I am sorry for your dx and that yet another sister has joined us- we try to treat one another pretty well and I hope you find some comfort in these pages , as I surely have, thanks to incredible women all over the world and yet at my finger tips- we are never far away.

Liane can you expand on the reason that surgery was not your option please?  I am not trying to pry but have a bilat mx scheduled and don't understand why no one has mentioned this to me? PM me if you like

Presby, if you are confident and comfortable with your team that is great. You don't have to get a second opinion.  However, insurance typically pays for an additional opinion for complex diagnosis.  Second opinions can be helpful with something as multi faceted as cancer.  There are so many options every step of the way and not every facility will offer options they don't have expertise in.  Of course second opinions help when one is unsure of the direction they are going and just want another viewpoint.  It's another of a thousand choices you are faced with.  Don't feel that you must though.  This is your journey and you choose what is best for you.

Melissa:  When I had my biopsy I was immediately scheduled with a surgeon.  Surgeons do surgery so that's the option they offer me.......it doesn't help when they are the first appt. we see when we are still shell shocked. I went to MD Anderson for the second opinion and was surprised by the suggestion of neo adjuvant chemotherapy if my tests confirmed the cancer would respond best to that approach.  I see that you are hormone negative and I am hormone positive so perhaps the option offered me would not be the best option offered you.  I'm going to start another thread for myself as I got sucker punched today when I met with the oncologist.  I thought he was going to tell me that the bone scan was negative as he had tended to expect and we would proceed with chemo.  It was not.  So now I have bone mets to deal with and I'm devastated but glad I am at MD Anderson.  If I had just gone along and done surgery first I'd have done something that maybe I didn't have to or at minimum wasn't ready to choose emotionally.

Today the oncologist, who is also a professor/researcher at MDA offered two approaches.  Still not surgical though. 

I don't want to hijack Presby's thread so I'll try to organize my thoughts for another thread.  I'm still in shock.

Lj, I am in N. Texas too.  My team is in FW and and I was also seen at Presby Dallas...they are the leader here in N. Texas.   I felt comfortable with my breast surgeon and plastic surgeon and my oncology team, so I didn't pursue Presby...but if I end up with a recurrance, it will be a toss up between Presby Dallas and MDA beleive me.   

And yes, you have time to make the informed decision you need to make.  I was diagnosed on 7/7 (although I knew from 6/24 when I had my U/S---it was most definately a cancer on Sono and I could see that).  My bil mx was on 8/25.   Blame it on summer vacation schedule---mine and both my surgeons!  But that time gave me the opportunity to become comfortable with my choices.   Remember, for most of us, by the time we can 'feel' a lump, it has probably been growing in our breast for 8-10 years....some are faster and more aggresive, but for the most part 4-8 weeks between diagnosis and treatment is considered safe.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to be comfortable with your healthcare team.  Do not go with a surgeon you are not comfortable with no matter how highly recommended he/she may be (or how many times they have been named Top Surgeon in D magazine...LOL).   Talk to others if you can about their experiences with the surgeons you are seeing.  I have not spoken to anyone who has used my 2 surgeons who doesn't just rave about them...that is what you want...but you MUST be comfortable with them too!   Take your time, ask the questions and make an informed decision that you can sleep with at night.  

I am about two weeks away from starting my treatment.  I had my dx on 7/21, surgery on 8/14 and should start my chemo on 10/29.  My Med Onc said it would be good if I could start within 8 weeks of surgery,however it just didn't work out.  So I will be 10 weeks from surgery.  She said it wasn't a big deal. 

With all the tests done, I do not have cancer anywhere else in my body, so the chemo is just insurance.    Part of this is probably because I am doing the cafeteria style treatment.  I don't have a team as you would have at MDA and I think  that makes a big difference.

Juannelle

Linda, it is good to hear from your.  I know it has been a hard road for you, this trip is never easy.

I had a biopsy and and MRI before I had surgery, to make sure there was nothing else in my breast.  After I had surgery then I had an PET Scan to make sure I didn't have it anywhere else in my body.  All has been good.  Also, my med onc sent off for a Oncotype DX and it came back a 25 so now I am doing chemo.  I had my first tx last Friday.  It just seems there is always something out there to consider. 

I was pretty sure that I would not have to have any thing but a lumpectomy and then rads.  What a disappointment when I found out they wanted me to do chemo.  But it is doable and so far my ses haven't been too bad. 

Hugs,

Juannelle

So sorry to hear about your diagnosis, I know exactly how you feel.  I am also in the N. Texas area and my oncologist is with Texas Oncology in SW Ft. Worth.  I can't say enough about the group, they are all so nice to deal with.

I'm mainly writing to offer you a little FYI in case you don't know this.  When considering reconstruction, to make sure it is paid for by your insurance, it has to be done under the same insurance that pays for your mastectomy.  I just found this out after asking a question on another forum.  My actual question was "does insurance have to pay to make the remaining breast match with the reconstructed breast?"  I found out they do, but has to be done using the same insurance company that paid for the mastectomy.  I am just letting you know this because, while I don't know your circumstances, I and many others who have a group policy with their employer could just possibly wind up with a different insurance company at the beginning of next year.  I know my husband's company changed carriers from 2008 to 2009 and it could happen again this year, so I guess if I'm going to have it done, I need to do it before the end of this year.

Here's wishing you the best and you've come to a good place for information and support.  I don't actively participate much, but I read the threads on the forum a lot, and have learned much.

Hi everyone,

My mom was diagnosed last Friday with Infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma. We are seeing the surgeon today, Dr. Mary Brian with the Breast Care Center of N. Texas. Our family has discussed a 2nd opinion as well.  We have considered MDA as a choice. Thank you all for your support and comments. Our family is in shock.  

I'm in North Texas, too.  I was referred to Dr. Ketaki Dave, in Denton.  My surgeon thought that her heavy accent might bother me but my husband and I liked her immediately.  My first surgery (lymph node, core biopsy and port placement) is Thursday.  I meet with Dr. Dave (pronounced Duvet, like a duvet cover for your bed) again next Thursday and then we'll get chemo rolling...

Sure hope we made the right decisions...I feel comfortable with both doctors so far and it seems that will prove to be a big deal as I will have a long lasting relationship with each of them.