Advice To Women Newly Diagnos... Video Transcript

Participants

, Aman Buzdar MD, William J. Gradishar MD, Generosa Grana MD, Hyman B. Muss MD, Amelie G. Ramirez Dr.P.H., Soraya, Breast Cancer Sur , Gabrielle Morris MD

Summary

Breast cancer is a disease that can turn a woman's world upside down. There seem to be a million questions that need to be answered. But there are ways to help organize not only how you treat the disease, but the way in which you approach getting the right information to make treatment decisions. Discover what doctors and patients say about becoming your own best advocate.

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Hearing your doctor say "breast cancer" is a diagnosis every woman dreads. But an estimated 200,000 women this year will hear those very words. It's important that women know their next steps.

AMELIE RAMIREZ, Dr.P.H.: Women just don't know what they're going to experience. They just know that cancer is a very devastating disease. Sometimes they haven't heard the new word about what the latest research is, how far we've come now in being able to treat breast cancer.

ANNOUNCER: Key to getting started is choosing the medical team that will be responsible for a woman's care.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: The first thing she needs to do is acquire a team of physicians that will plan her treatment, and that usually involves a surgical oncologist, a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist. For some women, surgery may be all that is necessary. For some women, radiation may not be needed, but it is important that that team is put together that will meet with her to coordinate her care.

ANNOUNCER: Finding the right team means choosing professionals with whom a woman feels at ease.

WILLIAM GRADISHAR, MD: The woman needs to identify a medical oncologist that she feels comfortable with, who's going to provide her with the information in a way that she can understand to help her guide her decision making. She may or may not elect to get a second opinion. If she does do that, that's perfectly acceptable; she should try and do it as quickly as possible because I think the biggest issue with women in this situation is there is a fear and anxiety about starting a therapy and the fear is usually exaggerated because once they start the therapy usually the level of anxiety diminishes dramatically.

ANNOUNCER: A diagnosis of breast cancer is not only frightening; it's confusing. Singer Soraya, a breast cancer survivor, remembers good advice her doctor gave when she learned of her illness.

SORAYA: He said, "We re not talking anymore. You're grabbing a pad of paper, and you're grabbing a pen and you re going to write everything down -- everything that I tell you." And I did it. And the reason why is because at that point you stop. Your brain shuts down and you don't register a thing. All I could do was just sort of copy what he was saying. It wasn't even registering. I went home that night -- couldn't look at the piece of paper. The next day I started reading it and I went, "Wow. OK, this is what I have. This is what he thinks I should do."

AMAN BUZDAR, MD: Half of the time patients are so concerned that they forget half of the things that they should be asking the physician.

ANNOUNCER: One of the most important things a woman needs to learn early on is the stage of her cancer.

AMAN BUZDAR, MD: The first thing you have to find out is, "What is the extent of the cancer? What is the stage of the disease? Is this tumor hormone receptor positive or negative? What are my chances of saving my breast? What are my chances of needing mastectomy?"

ANNOUNCER: Making an informed decision about treatment is no longer something that's left solely to the medical professionals.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: The woman needs to weigh in with her wishes and her interests. In the days of old, the physician would tell a woman, "This is what you must do for the treatment of your breast cancer," and we have now evolved from that to an era where are a variety of choices to be made with regards to treatment. They may involve hormonal therapy; they may involve chemotherapy, or both.

SORAYA: The Internet is a great source. You have to be careful.