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I went to see an internist...but he never really could find anything wrong with me. This became a very sore subject with my husband. But the first time I visited Dr. M, my oncologist, I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. I was going to have my ovaries removed, because my gynecologist decided to do an internal ultra sound, and she found a fluid surrounding my fallopian tubes and had a hard time finding my right ovary. Being 47 at the time, I was in no need of my ovaries. During the procedure, she found lots of spots in my abdomen...took a sample of that, took out the fluid surrounding the tubes, closed me up and that was where the cancer was found...my abdomen and in the fluid.
Dr. M wrote explicitly—word-for-word—everything she spoke to me the first visit. So it will be easy for me to just write here what she wrote. It was amazing.
You have Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. It was on the biopsy and in the fluid. It was estrogen receptor +. The progesterone receptor is pending and the Her 2 testing is not highly accurate at this point. It was lobular type.
She explained the x-ray studies and then she wrote what we need to do for some further testing. Then she wrote:
Two types of Therapy:
1. controlling cancer in breast with remission - radiate area 2. control disease elsewhere in the body...bone disease...treatment with drug A prevents fractures, helps bone heal.
Then she wrote:
To treat the whole body:
A. Hormonal Therapy –Drug B orally and Drug A, or
B. Chemotherapy: if Her 2-negative, Drug A TAC dose dense, AC – Drug C every 2 weeks, Drug D if Her 2 + (which it was not), another protocol.
Of course we went with chemo! We learned about DiaTech from A. K. and S. B., great friends in Palm Beach. She will also do chemo sensitivity testing.
Yes, Dr. M. explained what drug sensitivity testing was and she had a place where she usually goes to do drug sensitivity testing, but we had asked her to send the tissue up to DiaTech, and she had absolutely no problem. I think she was a bit impressed. She is so receptive to the patients, always.
That is where DiaTech came in: it showed after doing testing that drug E was the most potent drug and drug F was also effective. Both of these drugs showed the highest sensitivity.
So my first go around with chemo was changed to: Drug E (100mg/m2) Drug F(600 mg/m2) every two weeks for six treatments.
Then we will do Drug C and Drug I for six more treatments..
It was a "no-brainer" to change my protocol to the recommended drugs according to the testing DiaTech had done.
I learned that I had responded so incredibly well to the first treatment after just a couple of months, I think after 4 or 5 treatments, with scans and blood tests. My CA 125 went from 270 to 100 and continued to fall after that and is now at 20.
I feel good right now. I eventually had my ovaries and tubes removed by a gynecologic oncologist, Dr. H. G., another great doctor.
Glenn and I realized that our lives had changed so we, instead of going back to what we thought was the normal, found a new normal for all of us to live with. I deal with leg cramps, arthritis in my hands and neuropathy in my feet. But everyday I get up, see my family and say I am glad to be here with this wonderful life I have.
DiaTech was truly a life saver for me. Thanks.
Dr. M. said that in her 20 years of practicing oncology, she had never seen anyone who presented cancer like I did; it is usually a second or third go around. I had gotten a mammogram since I was 35, 13 years of films, never showed up on any of them!
I will do anything for you...YES I will recommend DiaTech to other patients.
JKS
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