Have Breast Cancer May be looking at Ovarian

hward2007

Hello, Missed Everyone, been to tired to type,

Next month I go to see the Ob-onconligist, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Jan. 07 still doing reconstruction, finished 4 rounds A/C, bilateral masctomy, and 8 rounds taxol was supposted to have 12 but it hit me hard so dose 8 was 9-12 terable side effects, I am BRCA1 pos, HPV pos, and had pre-cancerous leasson removed in May of 06, week later found out I was with child, then after c-section I had a clear pap.

Ok my question is does anyone know what can i can expect from my first visit with my ob-oncon, it the same as a regular ob dr. or do they do some thing different, because I had my port taken out with the sugery I had almost 3wks ago? any advice or information would be great, im nervous.

The Nut
Heather

cabbott

I went to a regular ob/gyn for years. Whatever the "book" said to do, I did even though I didn't particularly like those pap smears and gyn exams. I figured I was covered as far as cancer diagnosis went as long as I had my yearly mammogram and got my pap test. The gyn did a breast check and I thought he was the best specialist to go to. Maybe he was, as long as I didn't have breast cancer. But once I got cancer, I found out that the surgeons that do breast surgery actually do the best breast checks. (They have more experience with seeing what their fingers were finding, so they know more.) The gyn confided in me after cancer hit, that breast cancer really wasn't what gyn's specialized in.They specialize in the organs below the belt that women have. Just like breast surgeons know more about breast cancer and detecting it, OB/GYN oncologists know more about cancer of the organs gynocologists specialize in. They have bunches of experience seeing what their fingers explore so they can detect more. They also have tons more reading and studying in the area of cancer so they can save more lives and add more years to the lives of their patients that have cancer. I visited such a specialist when they thought I might have ovarian cancer after having a diagnosis of breast cancer. It was at a teaching hospital and as the patient I heard him explaining to his student what various lumps and things he was exploring (yep, I was the guinea pig! This was something I volunteered for and seemed to be the least I could do for all they had done for me. No crowd was present other than the nurse.). I could tell the student doctor(a fully fledged doctor in his own right) was miles behind the specialist and I was glad the specialist was my doctor. The exam wasn't any different than any other gyn exam I had. He just explained things better and knew more. Way more. He could rattle of the stats of everything and knew what I could do to take care of regular gyn problems too(like that recurrent yeast infection that the regular gyn didn't seem to be able to take care of). I turned out not to have ovarian cancer though I had stubborn ovarian cysts, but I stayed around for 2 years until he finally convinced me that it was time for me to get a total hysterectomy and get rid of those ovarian cysts for good. I was rather tired of the ultrasounds the technician had to do to to monitor them. That visit meant another 1/2 day off of work every 3 months and I didn't like missing work when I wasn't sick. I could have had only my ovaries out, but I was on Tamoxifen which can cause uterine cancer and didn't want to take any chances. The total hysterectomy ended our relationship since I now have only about a 1% chance of getting ovarian cancer or uterine cancer. As the specialist, he will only see high risk patients. So now I'm back to my regular doctor. I can only hope that this time I don't land in the 1% group. I trust the specialist a lot more. I read the research and I know that if a problem occurs my life would be longer in the specialist's hands. He would get cleaner margins and know the latest chemo drugs to start me on even before I left the operating room. I would go back in a second if he would let me just for that reular yearly pap smear and his explanation that everything is okay. He had the details I needed. I hope you are lucky enough to find such a specialist too.

C. Abbott

horsegal

Heather,
Seems we have a
Heather,
Seems we have a bit in common. I was diagnosed in Jan. '07 also and am still doing reconstruction. I had four rounds of A/C, then a bilateral mastectomy, followed by four rounds of taxol, 32 rads, and am now on tamoxifen. Because of the type and stage of my cancer, my oncologist had suggested removing my ovaries to reduce the amount of estrogen in my body. I had her refer me to a gynecology oncologist for a second opinion. Take a deep breath and relax - knowing how hard that is to do - but like cabbott said, the visit wasn't any different from a regular ob/gyn, other than the knowledge shared. The difference is that their specialty is cancer 'below the belt', so they are much more knowledgeable about it and the options available to your specific situation. My GYN-ONC did a pelvic exam, just like the regular GYN, and discussed my risks of ovarian/uterine cancer and options available to me. I did the genetic testing and was not BRCA1 or BRCA2 positive, so the risks for me getting ovarian cancer were not really increased, but because I am on tamoxifen, there is an increase in my chance of getting ovarian cancer. I have decisions to make also, but it was actually more reassuring getting the opinion of a doctor who specializes in this type of cancer and it made me feel more comfortable with the options presented to me to hear it from someone who sees it every day. Kind of like going to an oncologist instead of a physician for cancer. I hope your visit goes well, and you come away more knowledgeable and empowered to make whatever decisions you may have to make. Best of luck to you - Fran