New Jersey/NYC/CT/Eastern Pennsylvania ladies
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I went to Penn and had Dr. Czerniecki as my breast surgeon. I highly recommend him! When I first met him I wasn't so sure. He was very straight forward and blunt. However, after getting to know him I really appreciate his style. My original appointment was to discuss my surgical options for the DCIS found on my right side. He questioned my 'clean' diagnostic mammogram on my left side and ordered an MRI followed by an MRI biopsy. Everyone else said there was nothing going on in my left breast. He found ILC and positive nodes. We scheduled a BMX with immediate DIEP reconstruction. He recommended Dr. Stephen Kovach for a PS. Dr Kovach has a wonderful, caring, bedside manner and is a skilled PS. I've also heard good things about Dr Wu and Dr Serletti from the Plastic surgery department. My overall experience at Penn was very good.
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janetanned:
Thank you so much for taking the time to write me! This info puts me more at ease with going forward with this appt next week!
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thank you proudtospin!
It is so nice to be able to turn to these boards for support & helpful resources!!
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Jersey - Good luck with the appointment. Have you been to the Perlman Center recently? Every time I go there seems to be a new building being built nearby. It does get a little confusing finding the parking lot, which is under the Perlman Center. The entrance is behind the building. You might want to use the valet service.
Dr Czerniecki is an interesting character. He was not what I was expecting. However, I found him to be a very compassionate and caring person once I got to know him.
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I forgot to add that Dr Czernieki was, and maybe still is, in the midst of testing a vaccine for DCIS. He was pretty excited about the preliminary results when I saw in him January 2015.
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At Penn I had Dr. Wu for reconstruction. I think that is who has a questionable bedside manner. Dr. Serletti saw me during her maternity leave.
Janetanned - I had the same experience at Penn with Fisher. I went for a 2nd opinion and she identified & diagnosed problems that were missed by my local breast surgeon. It made all the difference. Had I stayed local and not gone for the 2nd opinion I would now be dealing with new diagnosis surfacing. Hopefully we got it all at once thanks to Fisher. I had DCIS, LCIS and IDC. The LCIS & DCIS we missed by the first surgeon.
I'll be at Penn in Perlman for my BS routine follow-up and genetics next month.
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i went & saw Dr. Czerniecki yesterday:
Instead of rewriting, I screen shot my post on another thread. I just dont know what to do
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Unfortunately....that is what often happens with second opinion.....you add more confusion.....I am sure when you calm down your heart will speak to you.....My best Liz
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it is never easy. I had a previous illness (Cushing's disease) where I went all over for opinions and I was glad I did. I opted not to do it with my breast cancer as my health is complex and to get another team to do that support would hold up treatment for a long time. I did look into a few places online but did not visit
In the end, your decision is what is what do you wish to avoid more? radiation or loss of a breast? In the end, none of us know everything until final pathology comes back.
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Ladies:
I think now that other area in question is making it hard! If it IS a small invasion then I would for sure lean BMX but if it is just some inflammation from biopsy then maybe I would lean on Lumpectomy. I am a small A cup & doing a lift on these itty bittys will just be a lift & not be bigger.
Maybe I need toschedule another consult with PS I saw first from Jefferson & ask about this nipple surgery. Just wondering why he didnt want to seem to want to fix it like Penn Dr.
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I am looking for recommendations for a medical oncologist in New Jersey. I am in the Scotch Plains - Westfield area. Having surgery in New York but would like to do chemo - if needed - in NJ. Prefer hospital that will approve cold capping so MSK Basking Ridge would not work. Thank you.
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Your not far from Overlook Hospital......there is Daniel Moriarty and people also like Bonni Guerin.......I use to live North.....Good Luck Liz
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Joni - I used cold caps and did my chemo at Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center. Kenneth Blankstein is my MO and he approved it. I think the hospital in Hamilton NJ has the freezer. I had my surgery at Penn. It's in Philly and they too allow cold caps and have lots of private rooms. For me, staying close by for chemo made life much easier. I didn't want my friends to have to schlep too far with the coolers and all the supplies we needed for capping. The caps work depending on your chemo regime. My before and after photos are on my profile. They don't work for all regimes...know this before going into it. All the best.
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Warrior_Woman - thank you for your post. I have seen your pictures and the cold caps worked great for you. Your pictures yesterday from your reconstruction were beautiful. I am so happy for you. Thank you for helping others on this site with their journey. Not sure who exactly will help me with the cold caps since most of my friends work. Can you do it with just one helper (my husband)?
I think Flemington is a bit far for me, unfortunately.
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not sure on the cold caps but did my rads at Hackensack with Donna mcnamarra, can only say wonderful
Things about that group
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Joni - Yes, you can do it with one person. Two is easier but many women have done the caps with one helper. I had one friend work the cooling of the caps and the other put them on & off. The caps have FDA approval now so it should be relatively easy to get MOs to agree. It really is easier to be close to home. I had a lot of SEs and ran back and forth every few days. Hopefully you just won't need chemo but if you do you'll get through it.
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Maybe Dr. Czerniecki is good at cancer surgery. But I had a nipple sparing prophylactic mastectomy and he did a procedure prior to the big surgery to improve blood flow to the nipple/areola area. I thought they would biopsy tissue at that time, but he did not do that. My mastectomies with reconstruction was in 12/15. I think he botched up my nipples. Yes, they survived, but my right and left sides are different sized and I lost pigment in the right nipple/areola. I will probably be going for a tattoo which defeats the purpose of nipple sparing. My sister had the identical surgery at Sloan Kettering where the Plastic Surgeon worked on the nipple/areola (NOT the breast surgeon) and her results are fantastic. Dr. C. is now in Florida.
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warrior_woman - I did my treatments at Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center too
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Wenrisa - I attend the BC support group but I'm at a point where I may not need it much longer.
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is there a place to find recommended nj breast surgeons? There's so many pages here to read. I'm seeing Dr Winnie Polen right now, but I'm not sure how she is as a surgeon. She sent me for mammo, us, normal and MRI birads4. I am getting 3 biopsies and want to have a 2nd and possibly 3rd opinon lined up in case it turns out to be breast cancer. 😟
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I don’t know if there is a specific place, but it would be helpful if you specified which part of the area you are in ... there are a TON of surgeons in the NJ/NYC/CT region, so it would make a difference if you were (for example) closer to south jersey or north.
I’m in central NJ and used Rachel Dultz - been very happy with her, but depending where you are there are probably other options.
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not sure but I recommend my breast surgeons us an McManus
She did my surgery 8 years ago and I am still clean
She is at St Peters in nbrunswick,
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I live in Middlesex County, but I have family in both Cherry Hill and Paramus NJ that I see often. I haven't seen Dr Polen come up in search at all for this site.
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Philly has a lot of great options - Penn, Jefferson, Fox Chase. I was treated at Penn and found everything to be very good to excellent. However, my surgeon has since left the area to direct a cancer center in Florida (I think), so I don't have a specific surgeon to recommend at Penn. If you want to stay in NJ, MD Anderson has partnered with Cooper Hospital in Camden. They have an excellent reputation in the cancer field.
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I was advised at the time of diagnosis to find the best surgeon that I could and to go with the top level of credentials meaning an oncological breast surgeon. I went locally for chemo but for surgery it is worth the drive for someone good. I saw two local surgeons and neither impressed me. Ultimately I went to Penn and Carla Fisher at Perlman is my surgeon. I did reconstruction with Steven Copit at Jefferson. We're also close to NYC and MSK.
US News gives the following rankings:
Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, New York City 2 University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 3 Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 4 Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, Boston 5 Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 0 -
I did lampectomy with Dr.Morrow at MSK in NY.
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Dan....I googled Dr. Polen and I see she is with The Summit Medical Group A General Surgeon...She has a GOOD reputation and most likely goes to Overlook Hospital....When I lived North is loved Overlook...but I am in South Jersey now...Liz
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I really wanted to see Dr. Feldman or Amber Guth, but it seems neither of them accept my insurance. I can either see Dr. Winnie Polen Summit Medical Breast Center (who I'm currently with), Dr Leah Gendler Morristown Breast Center, or Dr Maria Boraas at Fox Chase. There's so many doctors, I feel like this is the most important decision, but so overwhelming!
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Dr. Kristin Brill, with Cooper, was my surgeon. She's an excellent surgeon and has a great bedside manner.
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From those you have mentioned I would choose Dr Leah Gendler. I have only heard great things about her and she was one of my friends breast surgeon. I would have gone to her but I was in the St Barnabas system already and wanted to get things moving quickly. Thought going elsewhere would delay things for me. I used Dr Blackwood who is an excellent breast surgeon as well. She is withSt Barnabas center for breast care and disease management.
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