Think PINK! 2019

Think

Awareness

A Publication of The Daily Star, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019

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OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

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Pink!

Think

Awareness Some content provided by Gatehouse Media LLC, and distributed

by King Features. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in the publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of publication management. ©2019 GATEHOUSE MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Did you know?

Though women may notice various signs and symptoms that could be indicative of breast cancer, breast pain is generally not one of them. The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.® notes that there are various harmless causes of breast pain, such as puberty, menstruation and child birth, but that breast pain is not commonly a symptom of cancer. However, in rare instances breast pain may correlate with cancer. For example, breast tumors may cause pain, but cancerous tumors are not generally reported as painful. Though it may not be linked to breast cancer, breast pain should still be reported to a physician immediately, advises the NBCF.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

It’s impossible to identify breast cancer based on symptoms alone. This is why doctors need to perform a number of tests before issuing a diagnosis. Here are the types of assessment typically used.

Imaging tests Imaging techniques such as ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diagnostic mammograms are used to examine tissue. These allow doctors to identify and measure the size of tumors. They’re also used to help determine how advanced the cancer is.

Biopsy A biopsy consists of taking a sample of breast tissue for analysis. It’s the only test that can confirm a cancer diagnosis. Aside from their diagnostic purpose, biopsies are also used to evaluate how fast cancer cells are multiplying, which helps establish a treatment plan.

Laboratory tests There are many other types of tests than can be run on samples taken during a biopsy. These are used to gather more information about the cancer, such as its type,

grade, stage and potential response to different treatments.

Blood tests Blood tests are used to assess whether other organs are still functioning normally. Certain systemic issues may indicate that the cancer has spread.

Each breast cancer case is different, and doctors may want to perform a series of complementary tests and exams. Cancer is a complex disease, and each of these tests provides your health care team with information they need to effectively treat you. -

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Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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Mammograms:

a key tool in the fight against breast cancer

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ctober 18, 2019 is National Mammography Day. It’s observed yearly as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and is an opportunity to educate the public on the importance of early detection in the fight against breast cancer.

About one in eight American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Although death rates have been declining in recent years, it’s estimated that more than 40,000 women will die of breast cancer in 2019. The best way to prevent cancer and ensure positive outcomes remains early detection and screenings.

Screening mammograms A mammogram is an X-ray photograph of the breast. It’s one of the most important screening tools available to doctors because it can detect anomalies before they become noticeable through self-exam. This allows healthcare professionals to catch cancer early, thus increasing the chances that the treatments offered will be effective.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women at average risk for breast cancer get

screened every year between the ages of 45 and 55. Women 55 and older should get screened every second year, for as long as they’re expected to live another 10 or more years.

Diagnostic mammograms These allow doctors to get more information about a suspicious lump or other anomaly detected by screening tests. It’s a crucial tool that enables medical professionals to design effective treatment plans and provide the best care possible.

Early detection and prevention have dramatically reduced breast cancer deaths. Being proactive about screening is the most important thing you can do to protect your health. For more information, visit nationalbreastcancer.org or pinkribbon.org. -

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Contributing Writer

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We’re outsmarting cancer.”

Additionally, Patel said, Bassett has a “very active and prolific clinical program, (including) 20 clinical trials, many for breast cancer.”

“Because of the trials,” he said, “we have been involved with some of the treatments that have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.”

Keeping treatment patient-specific, Patel said, epitomizes Bassett’s holistic approach.

“The patient is a whole person and deserves a course of care that makes the journey as smooth and stress-free as possible,” he said. “In addition to medical treatment, patients experience a cohesive net of services, including navigation, financial counseling, nutrition therapy, pet therapy, art therapy, counseling sessions with social workers and more.”

According to Patel, there are more than 31 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, with Bassett Cancer Institute, specifically, credited

“We’re incredibly proud of the progress being made in breast cancer treatment. We’re in this together, and every day we’re moving closer to finding a cure.”

Dr. Anush Patel, division chief of hematology and oncology at Bassett Cancer Institute

with “some of the best survival rates in the state.”

“We’re incredibly proud of the progress being made in breast cancer treatment,” he said. “We’re in this together, and every day we’re moving closer to finding a cure.” -

CONTRIBUTED

Elizabeth Toth, Radiologic/Mammography Technologist, Bassett Medical Center, poses with a 3D mammography machine.

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hough a breast cancer diagnosis is, for most, an emotional, scary experience, contemporary treatments and ongoing research mean that breast cancer is often manageable and recovery rates DR. ANUSH PATEL are higher than ever.

And, according to local experts, Bassett Healthcare Network’s Bassett Cancer Institute offers accessible, up-to-date care to the thousands of upstate patients diagnosed annually.

Dr. Anush Patel, division chief of hematology and oncology at Bassett Cancer Institute, said the best care starts with the individual, before a diagnosis.

“Early detection is the best prevention,” Patel said in a written statement from the network’s public relations department. “One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. We recommend that women over 40 have mammograms every other year (and) Bassett offers 3-D mammography with the combined expertise of a breast radiologist specialist. Research shows that women who are screened regularly are up to 40 percent less likely to die of cancer.”

Following a breast cancer diagnosis, Patel said, a patient today has far more treatment options than were available decades ago. While surgical advancements have been less pronounced, he said, and there has been “not much change” in chemotherapy methods, medical treatments such as hormone and immunotherapy are rapidly evolving.

“We are learning more and more about how cancer behaves (and) medical treatment … is where the most progress has been made,” he said. “Hormone therapy is a really advancing form of treatment, with

many changes in the last few years.

(We can) check the cancer to see if it will respond to the hormone therapy (and), if the patient has a hormone-sensitive cancer, he or she can be treated with drugs that change that mutation of the DNA of hormone-positive cancer, thus manipulating the tumor’s growth behavior.”

“The biggest change (in treatment available) is targeted therapy, which includes immunotherapy,” Patel said.

“When conducting immunotherapy, we use a molecular profile of the cancer (and), based on the mutations a patient has, (we can) personalize the treatment and minimize side effects, improving the efficacy (of treatment).

Immunotherapy has been approved for certain types of breast cancer in metastatic setting, and survival rates are longer now because of better targeted therapy. Treatment is also much more tolerable because the medication is much more specific to the mutation and is much more targeted.

OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

By Allison Collins

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Local cancer center is at forefront of treatment options

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OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

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Flat-out

fabulous More women are sharing why they delayed or rejected reconstruction

By Melissa Erickson More Content Now

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iagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, health journalist Catherine Guthrie felt prepared. She knew her options.

Her choice was a lumpectomy.

But as a small-breasted woman Guthrie was told she was not a good candidate for lumpectomy. Instead, her surgeon suggested a single mastectomy along with a plan for reconstruction that seemed shocking to Guthrie but turned out to be quite common: Her breast would be reconstructed by severing the largest muscle of the back, wrapping it around and laying it over a breast implant.

“Is this for real?,” Guthrie remembers thinking. While not a hard-core athlete, Guthrie felt it was an invasive surgery that would affect her body’s ability to function.

She would no longer be able to do handstands, which always gave her a sense of strength.

With mastectomies, women have choices, and more of them are choosing to go flat.

Many options When faced with breast reconstruction, women are asked to

choose between the artifice of looking like man’s idea of a woman or the feeling of strength and power in their own bodies, Guthrie said.

Guthrie chose to go flat and shared her story in a memoir, “Flat: Reclaiming My Body from Breast Cancer.”

Going flat is a form of radical honesty, Guthrie said. It’s about body positivity, about coming out of the shadows.

“I can still be a woman, be sexy and empowered, strong and confident,” she said.

The No. 1 reason women choose to go flat is for their health, said Dr. M. Michele Blackwood, chief of breast surgery at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Recovering from a mastectomy without reconstruction is easier because it’s a less complicated surgery. There’s less chance of infection or other complications. Recovery is quicker.

Some don’t want a foreign implant or feel strongly that their breasts don’t define who they are, said Barbara Kriss, founder of BreastFree.org, a website for

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Nanette Labastida, an Austin, Texas, residential real estate professional. “My surgery is scheduled for October, nine years after mastectomy with implants.”

For aesthetics and comfort, a mastectomy should be as cosmetically pleasing as possible, leaving the patient with a smooth, flat chest, no extra skin and symmetrical incisions (for a bilateral mastectomy), Kriss said.

Going flat is an easier option for thin, smaller

After breast surgery: choosing a prosthesis Many women opt for prostheses over reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy. These come in three varieties, and here’s what you need to know about them.

1. Temporary. Temporary prostheses, also called puffs, are lightweight and soft forms that can be attached inside clothes or worn in a bra. This type of prosthesis is often worn soon after surgery, as it doesn’t rub against or irritate scars.

2. Permanent. These are designed to mimic the look and weight of a natural breast. Made from materials like silicone or foam, they’re either attached directly to the skin or fitted into a bra. These prostheses provide better balance than temporary ones and help prevent back issues due to unequal breast weight.

3. Partial. Women who undergo a lumpectomy or breast-conserving surgery won’t need a full prosthesis. However, in some cases a significant amount of tissue is removed and causes the breast to become uneven, thereby requiring a partial prosthesis to restore the breast’s full appearance.

When shopping for a prosthesis, bring a form-fitting top to the store. This will help you see how well the prosthesis matches the shape of your other breast.

How going flat has evolved Previously “going flat” generally referred to women who chose not to have reconstruction and opted not to wear breast forms after a mastectomy, said Kriss.

“In the years since, the term has evolved to encompass all women who opt not to have reconstruction, even though many of those women may wish to wear breast forms,” she said.

The distinction has been lost. Women considering not having reconstruction may hear the term “going flat” and may not realize that being flat doesn’t mean they can’t have the shape of natural breasts in clothes if they wish, Kriss said.-

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According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology 25% of double mastectomy and 50% of single mastectomy patients chose to go flat.

The stress of cancer coupled with major surgery “can put women in paralysis mode,” but the decision can be put off, Blackwood said. In delayed reconstruction — whether for six months or 10 years — a tissue expander is inserted as a placeholder, she said.

“Many more women are opting to not get reconstruction after their mastectomies, and now there is a growing trend toward women getting explant surgery many years later and opting to go flat,” said

Catherine Guthrie, author of “Flat: Reclaiming My Body from Breast Cancer”

OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

Things to consider

“Know that you are your own best advocate. Do your homework. Know that you have multiple options and that reconstruction is always an option even years later.”

breasted women with lower body fat, Blackwood said.

For women who are big breasted and/or overweight, sometimes extra, non-breast tissue is left after a mastectomy, particularly under the arms, Kriss said. Commonly known as “dog ears,” this can be uncomfortable and unsightly but can be removed by a plastic surgeon as a minor outpatient procedure, which may or may not be covered by insurance.

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women with breast cancer who opt not to have reconstruction after mastectomy surgery.

“Others do want to preserve their natural shape in clothes but prefer to use external breast forms as opposed to internal ones,” Kriss said.

Cost can also be an issue, Blackwood said.

Today surgeons are required by law to discuss the myriad choices women have, from same-day reconstruction surgery to going flat, she said.

“Know that you are your own best advocate. Do your homework. Know that you have multiple options and that reconstruction is always an option even years later,” Guthrie said.

Fitness events help “October is breast cancer awareness and I coach females. My mother had breast cancer in her early thirties and my grandmother died from lung cancer that started as breast cancer, so this is something I’ve always believed in.”

Volleyball players, including members of the Oneonta team, participate in last year’s Side-Out Tournament in Queensbury.

CONTRIBUTED

Lee Ferrara, head coach of the Oneonta High School volleyball team

By Allison Collins Contributing Writer

S

ince 1985, October has been known as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a designation that has spurred pink-hued products, ribbons, events and campaigns dedicated to generating funds and awareness.

Students today have grown up familiar not only with October as NBCAM, but also the disease, making breast cancer a cause high schoolers, college students and school administrators want to support.

Hartwick College senior Nate Benjamin, 21, said, as an athlete and personal trainer at the school’s Campbell Fitness Center, he was inspired to lend some muscle to on-campus fundraising efforts. Benjamin helped plan the school’s Oct. 5 power-lifting event and breast cancer fundraiser, open to staff and students.

“We actually started planning toward the end of last semester, in March or April,” he said. “We originally came up with the (competition) as a way to advertise for the fitness center and our training programs, but as it started to seem like a bigger thing, we wanted to do more good with it, so we decided to do it in October for breast cancer.”

All proceeds from each cash-only $5 entry fee, he said, will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The competition, Benjamin said, will include two divisions, based on competitors’ experience.

“There’s not really a specific amount we’re trying to raise,” he said, “but we want to get as many people in the door as we can and maximize the impact. Everybody I’ve talked to has seemed really excited about it.”

Despite never having been personally affected by breast cancer, Benjamin said, as a young person, he is

“very passionate” about raising awareness and funds.

“I feel like students in high school and college are the next generation coming up into the adult world,” he said. “It’s really important to get the things we’re passionate about out there and support the things we think we should be supporting.”

For Lee Ferrara, head coach of the Oneonta High School volleyball team, backing breast cancer re-

search and care is personal.

“October is breast cancer awareness and I coach females,” he said. “My mother had breast cancer in her early thirties and my grandmother died from lung cancer that started as breast cancer, so this is something I’ve always believed in.

“The odds of a female going through something like that down the road are high; it’s something like

battle breast cancer

one in every eight women,” he said. “It’s important for our young women to see this early if they can.”

Oneonta will host Cherry Valley for the teams’ annual “pink match” fundraiser on Oct. 8, followed by participation in a Queensbury tournament dedicated to raising funds for a national breast cancer charity, the Side-Out Foundation.

The former, Ferrara noted, generates between $500

and $800 at the door, plus online contributions.

“We’ve been doing this with Cherry Valley for at least 10 years,” he said. “And all that money is brought in and raised, then we donate it to the Side-Out Foundation and (later) in October, we go to Queensbury for the tournament. (That) is an awesome Side-Out event and we actually give our money to them when we get there.”

That tournament, Ferrara said, is “the second-largest in the nation in terms of bringing in money for Side-Out” and last year raised $55,000, $2,500 of which came from Oneonta-area supporters.

Ferrara, who coaches 13 varsity players in grades nine through 12, said he’s glad to see his athletes’ involvement in such efforts.

“I don’t think it really hits home for them until the tournament,” he said. “There are cancer survivors there and the foundation is there, so it’s a heartfelt, powerful experience. When (students) see the faces (of cancer patients and survivors) and have them say ‘thank you,’ it’s pretty awesome.”

The junior varsity pink match will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, Ferrara said, with the varsity game starting at 7. To donate online, visit giving.side-out. org/campaigns/16090#/.

At Bainbridge-Guilford Central School, increased awareness starts at the top. Each spring since 2017, teachers and administrators have been encouraged to receive on-site mammograms when the Lourdes “Mammo on the Move” mobile mammography van makes a daylong stop at the high school building.

“The Lourdes group reached out to us to see if we were interested in having the van come,” Sue Weibel, district secretary, said. “We thought it would be good to make it more convenient for our staff and this service is open to all staff.”

According to Lourdes literature, the van is designed to “put comprehensive health care on wheels and take it to health fairs, worksites, community events, senior centers, schools and churches.” Mobile services include breast exams and digital mammography screenings.

The mobile mammography unit will be at the Afton Family Health Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 11. For more upcoming dates and locations, visit healthcare. ascension. org.

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What to know if you’re

newly

diagnosed

By Melissa Erickson More Content Now

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ou’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now what?

You may feel scared and alone, but information is power. As you ponder your options and consider your course of action, consider this advice from experts.

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Take care of yourself “Maintain a healthy diet, try to get enough sleep and exercise. Bring a water bottle to your appointments; doctors can run late and you should stay hydrated. Try a meditation app to help manage stress,” said Dr. Heather King, breast surgical oncologist with Texas Breast Specialists, part of Texas Oncology in Austin.

Involvement equals empowerment

Question until you get answers “I would make sure that you are persistent when

Maintain a healthy diet, try to get enough sleep and exercise.

it comes to learning whether or not your cancer has spread and to what extent. It’s important to have solid and thorough understanding of the stage of the disease, the extent of the disease (size, lymph nodes and the pathologic type). By asking those questions of your physician and care team, you can get a thorough understanding of what you are facing and the best approach to address each of those areas,” said Dr. Miral Amin, surgical oncologist and oncoplastic breast surgeon at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Chicago.

Spare the nipple “If you need surgery for breast cancer, find a breast surgeon who is able to do nipple-sparing mastectomy … Especially with small breasts, if you need a significant lumpectomy and radiation, you will have a far superior aesthetic result with a nipple-sparing mastectomy and natural tissue breast reconstruction with sensory restoration in that with a good nipple-sparing mastectomy and reconstruction it may be difficult for other people,

Don’t freak when diagnosed “I realize it’s tough when you find out and it seems like a death sentence. However, realize that the vast majority of breast cancer patients are stage 1 or 2 and they are cured. You are much more likely to die with breast cancer than due to it,” said Dr. Bilal Farooqi of Comprehensive Hematology Oncology in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Don’t go it alone “Take someone with you to your appointments because there is no way you will remember everything that was said once you’ve left the appointment,” said Beth Pauvlinch, co-author of “Two Women 1 Disease,” which she wrote with her mother, whom she lost to breast cancer.

Rely on developed skills “Most couples do not realize that they already have the tools to cope with cancer based on previous crises. Remembering how they overcame difficult situations in the past may help a couple develop coping strategies in the current situation,” Amin said.-

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“In the age of precision medicine, no one’s treatment is alike and sometimes less is more. Work with your team of doctors to determine a treatment plan that works best for your cancer and your lifestyle. An involved patient is empowered, and an empowered patient will thrive and survive,” said Dr. Anjali Malik, a breast imaging and intervention radiologist at Washington Radiology in Washington, D.C.

Take care of yourself.

OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

“Be open and honest with your cancer doctor about the symptoms from your cancer or from the side effects of treatment. In some cases, your physician can offer easy, practical solutions to make living with breast cancer and chemotherapy more tolerable,” said Dr. Katisha Vance, a board certified medical oncologist in Birmingham, Alabama.

including your spouse or medical provider, to tell that you have even had a mastectomy,” said Dr. Constance M. Chen, a board-certified plastic surgeon and breast reconstruction specialist in New York.

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Tell it like it is

uses many tools in fight against cancer

By Allison Collins Contributing Writer

A

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OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

SURVIVOR

ALLISON COLLINS

Jo Bordinger is shown in her Bordinger Realty office at 365 Main St. in Oneonta.

fter 72-year-old Oneonta resident and businesswoman Jo Bordinger was diagnosed with breast cancer about 25 years ago, she credited a string of seemingly unrelated accidents with ultimately saving her life.

“My kids had had this necklace in one of their pockets,” she said.

“When I washed their jeans, it screwed up the washer and I had to go to the laundromat, but I was allergic to the (detergent) that had been used in the machine. That caused a reaction, which led me to discover I was allergic to prednisolone, so I went to the hospital, where I saw that my doctor, Dr. Joan Bachorik, was practicing again and I was overdue for a physical.

“Since she was back, I made an appointment and she found the lump,” Bordinger, who owns Bordinger Realty, said. “I’d gone to the ER for an allergic reaction … so it was amazing how the whole thing worked.”

After trying several things to diminish the tumor, which Bordinger said appeared non-cancerous initially, she had it removed as a precaution. At that time, she said, she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.

“It was driving me crazy knowing it was there,” she said. “It didn’t look like cancer on the mammogram, but when they took it out, it was a hormone-receptive tumor, which was unusual because that type of tumor was (associated with) woman who had gone through menopause, and I had not. I was 45 years old.”

Though Bordinger said her resulting surgery, lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and five-year course of medication eradicated the cancer, at the time of her diag-

nosis, she considered it “a death sentence.”

“I saw a tombstone,” she said.

“When they told me I had cancer, I thought, ‘I’m dead.’ Back then, women were dying from breast cancer; they were not surviving, and it was very scary. At the time, they were suggesting that women wait until they were 50 to get a mammogram, but if I had waited, I’d be dead and … I wasn’t afraid to die, but I didn’t want to die then. I had a lot of living to do.”

Bordinger said treatment, too, was different decades ago.

“Now they have fine-tuned chemotherapy, but they didn’t know at that time that there’s something like eight different kinds of breast cancer,” she said. “Back then, you had two choices — the lower dose of chemo or the highest.”

Bordinger said she opted for the “little guns,” using the lower dose alongside radiation and medication.

“I hoped for the best,” she said.

“Mine was an aggressive, fast-growing tumor, but God was with me and … I’ve been very lucky.”

The aftermath of chemotherapy, Bordinger said, led her to discover a different kind of “treatment” which, she said, proved powerful.

“When you get chemo and radiation, it kind of knocks your socks off,” she said. “I spent a lot of time on the couch and the only show I watched at the time was the Mike Douglas Show and I saw this episode where they were talking about spontaneous remission.”

An on-air cancer survivor, Bordinger said, mentioned using a Pac-Man analogy to visualize her cancer’s eradication and it struck a chord.

“When you have cancer, you just feel like you’re dependent on your doctors and your treatment and

there’s nothing you physically can do to fight,” she said. “But we have much more control of our bodies than we realize. (The woman on the show) talked about envisioning Pac-Man going through her body and eating all these cancer cells and, from that show on, I did that all the time and I got through the radiation beautifully and through the chemo great.

“The following year, I had a total hysterectomy … but I’ve never had an episode with the cancer coming back,” she said. “Any time I get an area that hurts or I don’t feel right, I start doing this exercise again and over the past 20 years, I’ve probably told it to at least 50 people. I really think we can help ourselves and this is something we can do any time, any place. It can be hard to be positive and that’s understandable — it’s scary stuff — but you’ve got to pull your boots on and fight this any way you can.”

Bordinger, a mother of four, said “wonderful family support” factored in her healing, too.

“My family was just amazing,” she said. “They were just unbelievable. They were always there for me, even if it was just coming to take me out for a walk or grocery shopping.”

Today, Bordinger said, she has 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and, though trusting her remission hasn’t always been easy, she’s feeling more free.

“When you get a pain or something that doesn’t go away … it takes a while before you stop thinking, ‘Oh, it’s back. It’s cancer.’ In the first years, it always went back to cancer,” she said. “It can be hard to have that not be the majority of your thoughts during the day. It’s a hard thing to overcome, but you will, eventually, and it will not be a center part of your life.” -

noun a person who continues to live after an accident, illness, war, etc.

Jo Bordinger

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sur·vi·vor

“My family was just amazing.

They were just unbelievable.

They were always there for me, even if it was just coming to take me out for a walk or grocery shopping.”

OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

Jo Bordinger

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“When you have cancer, you just feel like you’re dependent on your doctors and your treatment and there’s nothing you physically can do to fight.

But we have much more control of our bodies than we realize.”

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OCT. 2, 3 AND 4, 2019

11 essential questions to ask about your treatment Undergoing treatment for breast cancer can be worrisome. One of the best ways to prepare, however, is to get informed about what’s involved.

Here are 11 essential questions to ask your doctor.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

What are the different available treatments?

What are their risks and advantages?

Is there a treatment that’s more appropriate for my situation?

Will I need to be hospitalized?

How long will the treatment take?

How can we assess the treatment’s effectiveness?

What side effects should I expect? How long will they last?

If I need to have surgery, what are the different options?

What’s the difference between them?

Breast cancer:

communicating with your treatment team matters

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here’s no right or wrong way to react to a breast cancer diagnosis. Once it’s time to begin treatment, however, effective and open communication between patients and their health care team is crucial. Patients who communicate well with their teams have been shown to deal with pain and treatment side effects better.

Be transparent While they may be experts in their respective fields, the members on your team can’t guess what your worries or questions are. Without your full disclosure they won’t be able to adapt their approach, adequately reassure you or correctly inform you. Don’t feel like the onus is exclusively on you, however.

If a member of your team isn’t receptive to your con­cerns, bring it up with someone in charge.

Once treatment begins, be sure to share new information about your situation with your team. Let them know if you’re having trouble getting around or even if you have upcoming travel plans or events to attend. They’ll be able to suggest personalized solutions to help you better navigate your treatment period.

Expect transparency Your health care team is responsible for providing you with all the information you need to make informed choices about your treatment. They’re required to lay out every option available to you as well as their potential benefits and risks. Ask for clarifi­cation when needed and don’t hesitate to request medical professionals repeat themselves if there’s something you didn’t catch.

Openly communicating with your health care team is an effective way to feel more in control of your treatment. It also allows you to build a trusting relationship with the professionals helping you, which is likely to reduce the stress and worry associated with your breast cancer treatment. -

9. If I need to have a mastectomy, do I need to have both breasts removed? If I do, when should I have it done?

10. If I have breast reconstruction surgery, what will my breast look like? Will it look like my other breast?

11. When will I be able to wear a bra again?

In addition to these questions, write down a list of your own so that you don’t forget anything when meeting your treatment team. Feel free to ask a friend or family member to accompany you. They can write down the answers to your questions so you can refer to them when you need to.

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