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Chelee · 10-20-2008, 03:46 PM

Hi Lee,

Actually I had to agree with this article. When I was dx I was scared to death as most are. I had very little information to go off, & all they did was drum into my head that this was very aggressive bc with a poor prognosis.

When I asked for a 2nd opinion I was told that would "delay" things by weeks & possible longer. I was told that wasn't a good idea...but if I really felt I had too...go ahead. (They actually scared me out of getting a 2nd opinion.) They took advantage of my fear. (I was in total panic mode & they all knew it.)

I ended up with the youngest & newest onc in this cancer center which told me my chemo would be TCH. He told me I had no say so in my trt. (Much later I found out by law they have to give you all your options.)

After I finished my TCH I got a 2nd opinion after the fact. I had two different places say since I was stage IIIA, with 5 positive nodes they would of both treated me with AC, followed by TH.

The one thing I really liked about this article is stressing the fact that she got three opinions. That is so important. When someone is first dx someone on your team needs to get you out of your panic mode long enough to look out for your best interest & actually recommend you seek 2nd & even 3rd opinion. I was actually discourgaged from seeking one. That's just not right. So I liked this article for that reason alone.

Chelee

10-20-2008, 03:46 PM	#5
Chelee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern, CA Posts: 2,511	Hi Lee, Actually I had to agree with this article. When I was dx I was scared to death as most are. I had very little information to go off, & all they did was drum into my head that this was very aggressive bc with a poor prognosis. When I asked for a 2nd opinion I was told that would "delay" things by weeks & possible longer. I was told that wasn't a good idea...but if I really felt I had too...go ahead. (They actually scared me out of getting a 2nd opinion.) They took advantage of my fear. (I was in total panic mode & they all knew it.) I ended up with the youngest & newest onc in this cancer center which told me my chemo would be TCH. He told me I had no say so in my trt. (Much later I found out by law they have to give you all your options.) After I finished my TCH I got a 2nd opinion after the fact. I had two different places say since I was stage IIIA, with 5 positive nodes they would of both treated me with AC, followed by TH. The one thing I really liked about this article is stressing the fact that she got three opinions. That is so important. When someone is first dx someone on your team needs to get you out of your panic mode long enough to look out for your best interest & actually recommend you seek 2nd & even 3rd opinion. I was actually discourgaged from seeking one. That's just not right. So I liked this article for that reason alone. Chelee __________________ DX: 12-20-05 - Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu, 3+++,Er & Pr weakly positive, 5 of 16 pos nodes. Rt. MRM on 1-3-06 -- No Rads due to compromised lungs. Chemo started 2-7-06 -- TCH - - Finished 6-12-06 Finished yr of wkly herceptin 3-19-07 3-15-07 Lt side prophylactic simple mastectomy. -- Ooph 4-05-07 9-21-09 PET/CT "Recurrence" to Rt. axllia, Rt. femur, ilium. Possible Sacrum & liver? Now stage IV. 9-28-09 Loading dose of Herceptin & started Zometa 9-29-09 Power Port Placement 10-24-09 Mass 6.4 x 4.7 cm on Rt. femur head. 11-19-09 RT. Femur surgery - Rod placed 12-7-09 Navelbine added to Herceptin/Zometa. 3-23-10 Ten days of rads to RT femur. Completed. 4-05-10 Quit Navelbine--Herceptin/Zometa alone. 5-4-10 Appt. with Dr. Slamon to see what is next? Waiting on FISH results from femur biopsy. Results to FISH was unsuccessful--this happens less then 2% of the time. 7-7-10 Recurrence to RT axilla again. Back to UCLA for options.