A breast cancer diagnosis is life-altering. Your daily routine is different. Tests and treatments become the norm. You worry about getting better or, even worse, about not getting better.
But it can also alter your life in a positive way. You find strength you didn't know you had. Loved ones become even more precious and dear. And, if you're like Roxanne, 52, your focus shifts just enough so that you no longer fret about the small stuff.
"At first, I focuses on the cancer and worried about it coming back or spreading," recalls Roxanne, a Middletown resident. "But at a certain point, you realize you have had the best treatment and you just have to enjoy every minute you have. I do. I feel better than I did before I was diagnosed."
As a clinical trial coordinator at the Booker Cancer Center at Riverview Medical Center, cancer was something Roxanne knew a lot about. "Because of my job, I am very aware of treatment options and outcomes for breast cancer, and I was confident there wasn't anywhere else in this country I could have gone and received better care," she explains.
Roxanne was diagnoses with stage 2B breast cancer in March 2008 during a routine mammogram at the Jane H. Booker Women's Center at Riverview. Had they not caught the cancer when they did, her fight would have been much tougher.
After her diagnosis, Roxanne knew her physician's next step was Breast Conference, something she says is one of the tremendous advantages of being treated at Riverview.
"At Breast Conference, a multi-disciplinary team of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, nurses, and other clinicians meets regularly to review a patient's case," explains Phillipa Woodriffe, M.D. "When I brought Roxanne's case to Breast Conference, I knew my colleagues and I would develop a coordinated, personalized, and optimal treatment strategy."
Roxanne's treatment plan included a double mastectomy with Dr. Woodriffe; chemotherapy with Denis Fitzgerald, M.D.; radiation therapy with Hasmik Diratzouian, M.D.; and reconstruction with Negin Griffith, M.D., and John Taylor, M.D., all physicians affiliated with the breast team at Riverview Medical Center.
Roxanne also opted for genetic testing through Riverview's Family Risk Assessment Program. Many patients opt for genetic testing to learn how likely they are to develop certain cancers. When you know which cancers you may be at greater risk for, you can take extra preventive steps, such as scheduling more frequent cancer screenings or beginning those screenings at a younger age.
Roxanne tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. That gave her children and siblings an opportunity to be tested. Genetic testing provices family members with knowledge to better manage their future health care. For Roxanne, the result meant she would also see Nicholas Taylor, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist affiliated with Riverview. The gene mutation raises the risk of developing ovarian cancer, so she had her ovaries removed as a preventive measure.
Roxanne also counts the unique expertise of Dr. Griffith and Dr. Taylor among her blessings because they were able to do a type of reconstructive surgery that is done at very few hospitals in the state.
"DIEP-flap surgery uses microsurgery to remove excess tissue from a woman's abdomen and transplants that living tissue to create a new breast or breasts without compromising or removing the abdominal muscle," says Dr. Taylor.
"The results for our patients are phenomenal," says Dr. Griffith. "Patients retain strength in their core, and since the tissue comes from the woman's abdomen, many women have results similar to a tummy tuck."
Roxanne counts the birth of her granddaughter as her greatest blessing. "She was born two months into my treatment, and I like to say we grew our hair together," she says. "Losing my hair was one of the hardest changes, but it was sweet to share that special part of my recovery with her."
About the Doctors
Negin N. Griffith, M.D.
Board certified in Plastic Surgery
Holmdel | 732-335-0335
John M. Taylor, M.D.
Board certified in General Surgery and Plastic Surgery
Long Branch | 732-483-1800
Phillipa G. Woodriffe, M.D.
General Surgery and Breast Surgery
Tinton Falls | 732-542-4228
