tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20108635.post5178188107843914539..comments2023-10-01T10:18:00.072-04:00Comments on Plastic Surgery 101: Follow up to a question on breast cancerDr. Rob Oliver Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09059882318849767896noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20108635.post-69996552192178591702008-06-17T12:29:00.000-04:002008-06-17T12:29:00.000-04:00Rob:What's your stance on the controversy surround...Rob:<BR/><BR/>What's your stance on the controversy surrounding prophylactic contralateral mastectomies? High risk patients only - or are you recommending them to some younger pts.?<BR/><BR/>TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20108635.post-18428482111332070922008-06-16T19:31:00.000-04:002008-06-16T19:31:00.000-04:00OK, I looked at the British site you posted, and I...OK, I looked at the British site you posted, and I'm not even in there! There's no stats at all given for a cancer above 2cm, high grade, with no cancer in the lymph nodes. Grrr.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20108635.post-27322815681324081012008-06-16T18:12:00.000-04:002008-06-16T18:12:00.000-04:00Wow, thanks for the extremely informative (and fas...Wow, thanks for the extremely informative (and fast) post!<BR/><BR/>I'm the woman who asked the original question. Not that it matters, but my tumor was grade III (9/9 BM), her2 neg, ER/PR positive. Multifocal disease, with a 3cm and 2cm tumor plus other "areas of infiltration." But, no nodes. So, it's been really hard for me to understand where I fall on the scale, as all the oncs seem to look at is the nodes. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20108635.post-40689739693205059512008-06-16T18:08:00.000-04:002008-06-16T18:08:00.000-04:00But breast cancer is every bit as incurable as it ...<I>But breast cancer is every bit as incurable as it was in Halsted's day.</I><BR/><BR/>Well as a breast cancer survivor I have to say this particular blog entry is quite depressing. ;)<BR/><BR/>What's interesting is that the general public seems to see breast cancer as totally curable. While no one has said this to me personally, I know of women who - upon sharing their diagnosis - actually had someone say, "At least you got the good kind of cancer!" <BR/><BR/>Obviously there is no such thing as "the good kind of cancer" but I think people want to believe that there is. Cancer scares the hell out of people and it's easier to believe that medical science has come so far that it's not a big deal anymore. Unfortunately the surge of breast cancer awareness seems to be accompanied by a fair amount of misconception and misinformation.<BR/><BR/>When people find out I had cancer they get this horrible look on their face that says, <I>please tell me you're in remission.</I> I refuse to say I'm in remission - or heaven forbid, <I>cured</I> - because there's really no way to know if that's true. Cancer very well could be lurking in my body somewhere but as yet is too microscopic to be detected. So I usually say something along the lines of, "Don't worry, I kicked cancer's butt!" I guess I am guilty in perpetuating some of those breast cancer misconceptions but I can’t stand that awful look of pity and awkwardness on their faces. And in all honesty, I don’t think in that moment they really want a dissertation on why “remission” and “cured” really have no place in breast cancer vocabulary.<BR/><BR/>So did I kick cancer’s butt? Probably, since I was stage 1 node-negative and chose aggressive treatment. However, I was also HER2+, ER-, PR-, and my cancer was high grade. The reality is that there’s no way to know for sure. The rest of the world can choose to live in denial, but that’s an uncertainty I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for bringing some <I>accurate</I> awareness to the subject.Snafu Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09797239911806023066noreply@blogger.com