The next steps after Breast Cancer Diagnosis

 

There is no such thing as a Breast Cancer Next Steps cookbook. Everybody’s cancer is different and each diagnosis requires its own treatment approach. What my wife and I did after we learned about her breast cancer, was certainly not all perfect. Quite the opposite, I would things do differently in retrospect. But anyway, here is what I think is a reasonable and pragmatic way to net out a plan for the next steps regarding your breast cancer treatment.

Limit your Internet Research until you know the facts!

This is important. I assume that at this point, you and your wife/loved one, only know very little about her breast cancer. Maybe the only thing you in fact know is that she was diagnosed. Typically, the gynecologist is the one who has to break the news.This is a terrible situation, because you don’t know anything at this point, other than she has breast cancer. And therefore it’s critical that you don’t go nuts over things you don’t know. I said it before: the internet is a curse and a blessing at the same time. But it can be the most frustrating thing if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. So wait until you know more specifics, at least until you hold the pathology report in your hands. Even then your internet research might lead into a lot of confusion because of the abundance of information, which – to make it even worse – quite often is contradictory. But at least with the pathology report, you can tailor your search more to your specific situation. 

What you might want to do is reaching out to a support group right away. Again, www.breastcancer.org is an excellent starting point to just join the online community and tell them: “Hey I just got diagnosed – HELP”. I guarantee you, you are not alone and everybody will provide you with a lot of support and empathy. It’s completely free, no fees, etc. I really can’t help you with the next point, because everything depends on your individual situation. Sometimes even tougher than receiving the news of a breast cancer diagnosis is to inform the family members. We actually told (almost) everybody right away, because we knew that we would need everybody’s support – emotionally and logistically. We knew that we were about to see a lot of doctors, juggling our jobs, family with two kids and two dogs while trying to figure out the next steps with regard to the breast cancer, is an impossible endeavor, unless everybody jumps in. And we were very fortunate that this was the case with us. However, depending on your situation, you might want to wait until you know more specifically what you’re dealing with, before you break the news further.

Get the facts together!

This is the most important thing now and this is where you as a husband/father/brother, etc., can provide a lot to support to one you care for. Keep your head straight! I know this is hard, believe me. I’ve been there and I know it’s almost impossible to separate the emotions from logical thought processes. But it’s important hat you keep it cool and focus on what needs to be done. Get the pathology report: you need that as soon as possible and once you hold it in your hands, make several paper copies and also make a scan (pdf-file), some doctors like to have documents emailed to them, so it’s good to keep an electronic copy on your computer.

Who ever told your loved one that she has breast cancer, probably – but not always necessarily – provided her with a name of an Oncologist. Go and make an appointment as soon as possible. Depending on where you go, it may take up to several weeks until you get one and I know how hard it is to just sit there and wait. In parallel, try to speak to other people you know who had to deal with breast cancer and who they can recommend to you. It may be just a name of a doctor or a name of a cancer institution. In our case, Memorial Sloan-Kettering was mentioned consistently often and that’s where we ended up going for my wife’s three surgeries. Personally, I think you should get three opinions from three different doctors or institutions. In best case, you get a consistent feedback from all of them. If not, you may want to get even more opinions or just make a decision based on where (or with whom) you felt the most comfortable with.   Keep a folder in chronological order of all the paperwork you receive (and you will receive a lot of papers, believe me!). I know this is such an obvious thing, but I know from experience that a well organized binder can safe you a lot of time and frustration. 

Stay open minded and go for what you think works best for you! 

Naturally, you will get a flood of information which will be overwhelming. Most of the time, people genuinely really try to help you by trying to convince you of what is best for you in your situation. But what is best for them might not necessarily best for you. And I certainly can’t tell you what you need to do or not to do. But if there’s one thing I can advice you on: try to stay open minded. BUT, of course, do not buy into any kind wonder-powders that promise breast cancer cure you over night. Unfortunately, a lot of people in their desperation fall for the traps laid out there by ruthless criminals who want to take advantage of your situation.  Both, conventional and alternative/complementary breast cancer treatment options are available to you. As you will do your research, you will most likely realize that there is a strong movement underway that supports the idea of invigorating the body’s own healing mechanism in order to fight the cancer. That concept is founded on the belief that cancer is not just something that randomly happens to some people, while others don’t get it. That to me never made sense. I truly believe that cancer happens for a reason. And therefore I am a supporter of the alternative/complementary breast cancer treatment options.

 

 

HOWEVER, I am also a firm believer in conventional treatments and I fundamentally disagree with those who categorically just trash the pharmaceutical industry, accusing it of only being interested in making profits. The reason why I strongly oppose to that: Since almost 10 years, I am being employed by one of the top pharmaceutical companies and I do know for a fact that me and my colleagues work very hard to research in new remedies and cures for patients with all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Do we want to make money? Oh yes, absolutely. That’s the whole concept of business – making money, isn’t it? But we do put our patients first – if it was for the money only, there would be better and more lucrative ways out there. But anyway, this is not the time to start a political debate. My point is: I do believe that either breast cancer treatment option, traditional or alternative, independently or in combination, should be considered by a breast cancer patient as possible choices. For example, my wife’s breast cancer was removed surgically, but she refused to take chemotherapy and radiation. Why? Because of the characteristics of her tumor and its location. The mass was practically next to her heart and we did not feel comfortable having that section of her body exposed to radiation. And the chemotherapy options where not convincing enough for us to take the associated risks of heart-disease. Ann felt more comfortable with switching to a very much regimented lifestyle and nutrition protocol, with targeted natural supplements, high doses of intravenously administered Vitamin C, Laetrile and a natural approach in order to tackle her hormonal imbalance. So as you can see, she made use of both available breast cancer treatment options, traditional and complementary.

Your research might lead you to conclude that all alternative treatments is just a bunch of baloney - or that traditional treatments were proven to ineffective and actually harmful. Well, it’s not for me to either agree or disagree with you, but that’s not necessary. The only important thing is, that you know by the time you make a decision, you thoughtfully considered all the available options to you and therefore feel comfortable with the path you have chosen. 

I hope that by sharing all this with you, I was able to help you a little bit with your situation.

I wish you all the strengths and faith you need. If you want to talk to me, email me anytime at:

 

 

 

                                                                        planetcaravan@gmx.com.