VivianT's Journey with Invasive (Infiltrating) Ductal Carcin...
Survivor: Breast Cancer > Invasive (Infiltrating) Ductal Carcinoma
Patient Info: Finished active treatment less than 5 years ago, Diagnosed: about 10 years ago, Female, Age: 65, Stage IIB, HER2 Positive: No, ER Positive: Yes, PR Positive: Yes
Get Full Access Today It’s EASY and FREE!
Things you can do
More Questions
Find us on Facebook
Experience Icon Descriptions
Procedure: Drag this icon to show a procedure.
Radiation: Drag this icon to show a specific radiation therapy experience.
Drug Therapy: Drag this icon to show a specific drug therapy experience.
Clinical Trial: Drag this icon to show a clinical trial experience.
Side Effect: Drag this icon to show experience with a specific side effect.
Oh No: Drag this icon to show when something bad happened (e.g., cancer’s back, lost job).
Celebration: Drag this icon to show when something good happened (e.g., last treatment, hair is back).
Loss: Drag this icon to show a time of loss (e.g., lost hair, lost loved one).
Decision Point: Drag this icon to show a time when you had to make a tough decision.
Other Care: Draft this icon to show a time when you needed other care (e.g., hospice, psychotherapy).
Loading...
Problem with doctor
Oh No
When I was first diagnosed it was a shock. I had gone in every year for a mammogram and an annual checkup and was given the "every thing is fine " letter from the radiologist. Initally, I was told that the spots were small and in only one breast after a biopsy. I was assured that I was at a early stage. The surgeon and I discussed doing a Lumpectomy with reconstrutive surgery. The Surgeon then ordered a MRI. When I met with him after the results came back, he told me the spots were much larger (over 10 times larger) than he he first thought and in both breasts. When I asked why the results were so much different, he brushed my questions aside and never would answer me. A second biopsy was ordered for the other breast and another spot on the first breast. The results were that I had invasive breast cancer in the breast that the radiologist had said was cancer-free. I felt that I was living in a nightmare! I was very confused as to why I seemed to get so many different answers. When I tried to get someone to explain why the size of the cancer and location seemed to change, no one would answer my questions. I was being pushed to set a surgery date and when I said that I would not set a date until I fully understood why the results had changed and what results could I trust - I was labeled as 'difficult'. I finally was able to talk to the surgeon and express my concerns and got answers, but it took awhile. I was told that I was harming my health because I was delaying the surgery, but I could not make a decision on what type of surgery with answers from the doctors! I ultimately decided to have Bilateral total Mastectomy - I realized that I could not trust the test results from the mammograms and never wanted to see another "every thing is fine" letter when I had cancer that they had missed. What I have realized is that there are a number of doctors involved in the diagnosis but they don't actually talk to each other- they just sent reports. The patient gets the short end of the stick.