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Once your chemotherapy is completed,
the medical oncologist will generally meet with you about 4 to 6 weeks
after completion of your last dose of chemotherapy. That meeting is
often meant to talk about any
leftover side effects and how you're recovering from your treatment.
We use that time to talk about hormonal therapy and
if it's appropriate in your situation.
We also talk about the importance of follow-up and who's going to follow you.
It is important after completion of treatment that
you undergo surveillance. We're looking for
any evidence of recurrence and we also want to identify any new
breast cancer that may arise. So patients
are followed by their involved physicians. It may be the medical
oncologist, the surgeon
the radiation oncologist, or the family physician.
And most importantly, it's about being assessed, having
an examination including bilateral breast examination
where that's appropriate
and ensuring that you have proper imaging.
Typically that would involve annual mammogram.
When I finish my radiation treatment
then I will be seeing my oncologist here at North York General
and the surgeon in a rotation. I don't see them all the time
I see them in a rotation. Once every six months we'll be doing follow-up mammography, etcetera.
And again, all of that will be laid out for me, the schedule
built and the nurse navigator
will likely be the one who lets me know where I'm going next.
It's important for people to feel safe.
I don't believe that you can really heal properly
if you're afraid, if you're tense, if you're nervous
if you feel vulnerable all the time. And this team here
is absolutely wonderful. I think the main advice that I would give
to anyone who
stands in my shoes and
I'm really hoping that nobody really has to but I know it will happen:
ask questions, be part
of it. Don't feel as though you are just a
victim. We are not victims, this is a life event.
This is something that we have to manage. We have wonderful caregivers
to see us through this and take care of us.
But they are our caregivers, they are not totally responsible, we are
responsible for ourselves and our own healing.
If you're starting this journey, it is just a journey.
It's not your whole life, it's just part of your life
and the key is just
be positive. You'll get through it, you'll have a lot of us support,
a lot of love. There's a lot of people around, they do have the support groups,
just be positive, just be happy.
When you're going through it,
it's all this break in your normal activity.
It's just trying to find a way to get back to normal,
whatever normal is - yeah. And so normal is going to be
different, so it's coming to terms with that. Alright, okay well
we have this, this thing that we have that we're working our way
through. The worst of it is definitely over
but okay let's see now
we don't have as many trips down to Toronto as we did before
and we are getting back into a routine. So it's
almost like you're thankful that, ok, I'm getting back into my daily
routines. I'm able to
travel with my son's hockey team again
and I'm able to do anything for able to look forward to vacations with the family and
plan
ahead.
I'm just glad I'm back to playing volleyball and playing baseball and you know there's some things, you
know, you go to water ski and it's a little bit harder and things aren't working
exactly the same but
but, all in all, things are the way they were.
Attitude is so important and I mean you're going to have days for sure
where you're going to want to throw something and you're going to say why me?
But just let it be that and let it go because
it's just so important to be thankful
that it wasn't any worse. It's so important. I've met so
many women that
I really feel like it's impeding their recovery because
they're so upset. And it is upsetting, I'm not saying that it's not but
it's just important - it's just a chapter, it's not your whole life
it's a lump in the road if you will.