The web is a great and powerful source of information. It can also be a great source for anxiety and wrong information.
When I got home from getting my printed pathology results I could not stop reading them. I had no idea what I was reading because I was not a doctor. I did not have an appointment with an oncologist yet as it was New Year’s Eve when I got the official printout. I could not wait for an opening to find out all about my cancer. As I previously mentioned I hate waiting.
I went to the web to try to decipher the secret code of doctors. I must say I went to reliable sites like the American Cancer Society, Komen, and Web MD. There are many sites on line that I am not comfortable with. I started searching each of the words that I did not understand and trust me there were a lot of them.
I found out what each and every part of the report meant. I made a list and broke everything down item by item so that it was in English just for me. I found a list of questions you should ask your Oncologist on your first visit. The list that was there was good but I already found out some of the answers so I needed to revise the list with my own specific questions.
When you start the journey through cancer or any other medical issue you should get a binder and keep everything. Keep all your lab reports, copies of doctor’s notes, and questions you asked. This will come in handy through different stages of the journey.
Before I even had my first oncology appointment I knew I had stage 2, triple negative, intra-ductal carcinoma. Now, I know that if you have not dealt with breast cancer you may not know what these things mean. I do know that having information is power. I did not choose to get breast cancer! I did not choose to have my “girls” betray me like this.
I can choose to know everything I can about this new fight that I was embarking on. I was going to fight like hell to be here for my kids. My kids did not deserve to lose their mom and my husband did not deserve to be a widower and single Dad.