 |
Counting Her Blessings
Yearly mammograms, an early diagnosis, a positive attitude, and Riverview's top doctors have made all the difference for one woman as she takes up arms against breast cancer.
As Breast Cancer Awareness month approaches, Sarah (Sally) Harris of Ocean Grove has important advice for women: "Go for your annual mammogram, keep the results of all of your past tests in a file, make sure you do your follow-up, stay positive, and choose the right doctors!"
This is sage advice from someone with firsthand experience, since Sally was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. True to her word, she has heeded all of her own advice, starting with having a mammogram every year. "When I went for my annual mammogram this time, the doctors found something suspicious," Sally recalls. "What looked like a benign lump actually showed signs of cancer cells."
From that point on, Sally took a proactive stance in her case, beginning with independently researching her condition. And because of the upbeat nature she's chosen to maintain throughout, she will tell you, amazingly, that the whole process "has been one blessing after another."
The Right Steps from the Start
After visiting with her gynecologist, Kathleen Walsh, M.D., Sally was referred to Debra Camal, M.D., a board-certified breast surgeon at Riverview Medical Center, and Salvatore Raccuia, M.D., a breast radiologist fellowship-trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Raccuia met with Sally at Riverview's Women's Center, a comprehensive facility dedicated to women's health — mind, body, and soul — that offers a full range of breast services, convenient hours, and support groups all in one comfortable and convenient location.
"I trust Dr. Camal and Dr. Raccuia, and this is so important for a number of reasons," comments Sally. "I understand that biopsies are 'operator dependent,' and it gives me confidence to know that I have the right doctor, in Dr. Raccuia, reading my results. And I feel just as confident in Dr. Camal doing my surgery; she has been very thorough and very compassionate."
A Promising Horizon
"We have made so much progress in breast cancer imaging and diagnosis," says Dr. Raccuia, "and our modalities are consistently improving. This gives us the ability to make an early diagnosis of breast cancer, increasing our patients' chance for cure and survival."
Many advances have been made in surgery and reconstruction as well. "My neighbor is the head of oncology surgery at Albert Einstein in New York, and when I told him my surgeon was Dr. Camal and that my reconstruction would be performed by Dr. John Taylor, he gave me very positive feedback," Sally reports. "As it turned out, he trained Dr. Taylor and has researched Dr. Camal and had terrific things to say about both doctors. I saw this as another blessing."
Being True to Yourself
Like many women facing breast cancer, Sally had a lot to think about and many decisions to make. In her particular case, what started with one lump and a lumpectomy progressed to two lumps and the eventual decision to have the breast removed. Then, two weeks before her scheduled surgery, Sally made the very personal and brave decision to have both breasts removed, a decision that has brought her peace. She didn't want to worry about more breast cancer in the future.
Throughout it all, Sally's husband, Norman, has been her rock. "When all of this began, my husband told me it was our journey, and that meant the world to me," Sally shares. "I am a strong woman, and I usually have no trouble making decisions, but there's so much to think about when it's happening to you. My husband helped me make decisions because he knows me and he knows who I am."
And who is Sally Harris? She's a capable, confident woman with a terrific sense of humor and a deep sense of humility. "When I go through chemotherapy, I think I'm going to skip the wig and just put a pink bow on my head," she says good-naturedly. "I want to be like the other strong women who support survival."
 – Tria Deibert
|
