Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women in the U.S., second only to
some types of skin cancer. Every year, 250,000 new cases are diagnosed in the country. The disease
causes cells in the breast to deviate from normal growth, and there are several different types. Getting a
breast cancer diagnosis may be one of the toughest moments you’ll have experienced. Make sure you’re well informed and that you ask all the important questions.
What are your treatment goals?
After processing the shock of a breast cancer diagnosis, to avoid feeling defeated, ask about the next steps. There will be different types of treatment available, depending on the type of cancer you have. For more advanced types of cancer, you may have to undergo a mastectomy or chemotherapy. If you’re diagnosed in the earlier stages, you may be recommended to go through radiation or hormonal therapy.
Discuss all the available treatments with your oncologist, ask about all the pros and cons, and establish a goal. Is it to help you feel better, to eliminate cancer, mitigate metastasis, or all three?
There’s a corresponding preparation for each specific treatment, and some may take months. Chemotherapy, for instance, may require you to adjust your diet completely to reduce the amounts of sugars, saturated fats, sodium, and alcohol. While on the treatment itself, you may also need to avoid vitamins A, C, D, and E as these may interfere with the therapy’s efficacy. Consulting a dietician may help you create better diet plans.
Similarly, for chemotherapy, you should sit down with your dosimetrist – a certified radiation therapy expert who’ll plan out your entire treatment. They may suggest a central venous catheter inserted before your first chemotherapy infusion; this makes it easier for medication to reach the bloodstream. Go over the risks and potential side effects, too, so you can arrange plans.
Who should I call if I have any questions?
Being newly diagnosed, it’s perfectly normal for you to have countless questions. So it’s important to establish the proper channels of communication. With COVID-19 worsening the shortage of physicians, oncology nurses have stepped up to be the first line of communication. Oncology nurses don’t just provide care for cancer patients, they’re also responsible for coordinating cancer management, and fielding your queries. Because of the surging demand for medical workers amidst the pandemic, health care education has shifted online. Today, through online general health care degrees, institutions have made training more accessible to health care workers. These programs prepare individuals for nonclinical health care services such as communications and health care systems. This type of training makes them more equipped to field your queries, especially ones made through calls or telehealth appointments. From questions about your diagnosis to your cancer management, you can rely on your health care team to provide support.
How will breast cancer and the ensuing treatments affect my health long-term?
It’s important to keep looking ahead and anticipate different outcomes. Managing cancer is a busy enough job on its own, but you’ll also need to consider the future. Apart from becoming NED (No Evidence of Disease), another goal should be for you to live a healthy life.
However, some treatments may have long-term effects. There may be permanent physical changes, including phantom breast pain, chronic pain, and other anatomic changes. Some women may even experience decreased strength, mobility, and cognitive dysfunction. There have also been cases where treatments impact fertility. These are things you may not be thinking about right after your diagnosis, but you should. Cancer is not your entire life; it’s just a part of it. Find out how it may affect you in the larger scheme of things.
Feel free to add to these questions, but these are great to start you off with.
Written by Astrid R Carling
Exclusive for breastofus.com
