Archive for June 30th, 2010
The Big Team
It’s quite strange now to not have a doctors appointment or procedure for three weeks! As your cancer diagnosis hits, you meet an entire new team of folks with one reason – to treat your cancer and maintain your healthy state for decades to come. But it’s a bit overwhelming at the same time, confusing to who does what, when and why.
Here’s my circle of medical care as helpful reference to others newly diagnosed or their caregivers:
- Breast surgeon: the one that specializes in operating on the breast
- Pathologist: the one that identifies, reports and assigns grades by studying cells from tissue samples
- Genetics Counselor: the one that explains what tests are available and the impact of various results
- Reconstructive plast surgeon: the one that rebuilds the breast after removal
- Oncologist: the one that determines best post surgery therapies – the one you see for the rest of your life!
- General Practitioner: the one that oversees you overall health – annual physicals are critical
- OB-GYN: the one that manages your general reproductive organ health – annual pap screens are critical
So, I watch my parents lives that seem to revolve around doctors appointments, I feel a bit younger than most to have the same schedule now, but I’m all the more healthy now from it!