breast cancer, late 30s - who are the best doctors in the DMV?
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Anonymous
| I had a partial mastectomy with Dr. Mary (Molly) Sebastian at VHC in Arlington in November. She is great. I am 52, and my cancer was found through a routine mammogram, so I am very thankful for the eagle eyed radiologist. It was stage 1 and after removal I had 5 days of radiation. All done at VHC. I agree with the person who said find the surgeon first and then they will direct you to people they recommend and trust. Although none of this is fun, I have found everyone I have dealt with to be kind and helpful. It's also been very efficient and well organized from diagnosis, to surgery, and then radiation. I also agree with having someone come with you at least to that first appointment with the surgeon to help take notes. It's a lot and I was thankful for my friend (who had surgery due to BRCA-2) and knew all the right questions to ask. Good luck and hang in there. |
Anonymous
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The immunotherapy, lumpectomy and radiation bit was really a big fat nothingburger for me. I pray that it is the same for everyone. Chemo kicked my tushy but it is ok. But, it is not the chemo of yesteryears. Medicine has really made many advances and it is going to get better exponentially. Early detection is the key.
My hair came back unbelievably lush, thick, soft and shiny - lovelier and prettier than ever before. The eyebrows and lashes that I had lost due to age, menopause and thyroid before cancer ..they all fell off during chemo. But then everything grew back lush and bushy like my teen years. Even the bald patches and hair loss on the scalp, eyebrows and lashes have disappeared. Body hair has come back sparse - thank God. Nose hair also came back - but like a walrus. My DH calls it a system reset. Also, just found out that cancer patients have lower incidence of Alzheimer's. There is some comedy gold here. |
Anonymous
Dr. Wright did my daughter’s (late 20s) bilateral mastectomy, and she was excellent. Dr. Behnaz Fayazi did her reconstruction. Dr. Hendricks is her oncologist, and she really likes her and the treatment plan she implemented, but Dr. Hendricks is retiring soon. She’s going to switch to another doctor in the same practice, but I’m not sure who. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thank you for all the helpful and kind replies so far. I really do appreciate it. This has been a lot to grapple with and I have three young kids.
It does look like Dr. Magnant has retired, but I am looking at all these other recommendations. To answer a few questions that were asked, the cancer is ER+PR+/HER2-. They did not see any spots on my lymph nodes, but I have not had my MRI yet - that is next Wednesday. |
Anonymous
Er/pr+, her2- is the least aggressive and most unlikely to need chemo. And the most common type of breast cancer. So that is good! Another thing you will likely have done with that type of cancer is an oncotype. It will give you a score that will guide the chemo decision. Do you know the size and grade of your tumor? |
Anonymous
It is a lot to process. Especially at first. It got better for me once I had more info and a treatment plan in place. |
Anonymous
| Just sending good vibes OP. |
Anonymous
Dr. Hendricks is retiring in June. |
Anonymous
+1 Also, remember that every single person and every single cancer is very different. As different as your life and life stage. So, in some ways - the shared experiences of cancer are shared experiences only in extremely broad strokes. The granular lived experiences are very different. It does becomes a whole lot better and manageable once you start your treatment plan. BC is very manageable and very curable. Remove the fear and lean into all the resources that are available to you without hesitation - health coach, therapist, support groups, exercise etc. Your body responds beautifully to the positives. Remove the stress. It will all be ok. I cannot even imagine where cancer treatment will be in the next 4-5 years because it is evolving so very rapidly. |
Anonymous
A whole-hearted Maureen O’Donnell vote. Just had my surgery with her last month. She is absolutely amazing. So reassuring, she immediately puts you at ease. Her specialty is breast conserving surgery and I couldn’t be more grateful for her. All the doctors at Sibley work together (you will likely see several during treatment) and they all have been great. |
Anonymous
| OP, the few weeks following diagnosis are the worst - scary and overwhelming. But as soon as your treatment team is in place at a breast center (I was at Sibley), it all comes together. The doctors all know what to do, they do it all day long, and the process is a well-oiled machine. You will be fine. One thing I was glad I did was set up my appointment right away with the breast surgeon (O’Donnell), even before MRI, so you can get in and on their schedule for surgery as soon as possible. If you go to Sibley, Dr. Khavanin did my plastic surgery and he was great. |
Anonymous
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I had a great experience at Georgetown. My surgeon was Dr. Evangelista. My original medical oncologist has left, but I am happy with my current one, Dr. Mainor. I have seen others at the practice. Everyone has made me feel well taken care of.
However, for radiation I'd recommend considering Sibley/Suburban due to ease with logistics. Dr. Stinson is amazing. |
Anonymous
| Best wishes OP. |
Anonymous
Yes, including the surgeons. |
Anonymous
Same experience here too. It actually made me thankful to be in this country for this. |