Are side affects of chemo and radiation that bad?

Assuming you’re your appt is at the McKinley location you’ll check in at desk on 3rd floor, given a wristband and directed to waiting area. When you meet with the surgeon he/she will review your case and will schedule mammogram, MRI, etc at Moffitt to confirm diagnosis because they don’t depend on outside testing. You’ll be offered the opportunity for genetic testing and participating in cutting edge procedures. Hopefully they can schedule those appts on the same day to cut down on travel. There are hotels nearby if you have some early morning appts. After completing those tests you’ll meet with the surgeon again to make final decision on surgical procedure. A coordinator will then gather the team and find a date that works for everyone, especially you. Your post op appt will be about two weeks later. I was given the surgeon’s and NP’s contact info at the first visit and they were very prompt to respond to my questions and concerns.
I hope this helps. Maybe our paths will cross in the future. I’ll be there Aug. 2024 for my next mammogram.

Thank you so much for that update I appreciate it and maybe our paths will cross as I’m sure I’ll be back-and-forth to Moffitt from here on out even for my future mammograms and ultrasounds, etc.

I went to Moffitt for a second opinion after being diagnosed with DCIS grade 3, 4mm tumor. After my biopsy with my first dr. a mri was done that said there was no tumor in either breast. When I questioned my surgeon, she said, mri’s have a lot of false negatives and cannot be relied on and I needed to have surgery. That’s when I went to Moffitt. I talked to someone there doing their fellowship for about 45 minutes. She basically read me the results from my previous exams. No additional xrays or testing were done. I then met with a Moffitt surgeon and 2 interns for 10 minutes. I explained to her that I wanted to do a wait and see approach due to the mri results. She said that the she was too busy to be expected to “waste her time” on someone that didn’t want surgery. She did perform a clinical breast exam, and told me to call her when I was ready for surgery. I did eventually have a lumpectomy with my 1st surgeon, that found “unremarkable tissue” with 8mm clear margins. If cancer is ever found again, I will make the trip to Jacksonville to the Mayo clinic.

My diagnosis and treatment was very similar. Clear 8 years.

I was terrified to face the side effects of chemo. I was told that my breast cancer was treatable and curable, so I didn't worry about dying. But, I expected to go through hell on the way to being cancer free. My doctor anticipated the side effects and took care of them. I went to the emergency room twice for a sinus infection and they took care or it. Really, though, my chemo side effects were not nearly as bad as I had imagined. The treatment slows you down, of course. Prepare to watch a lot of TV. Netflix kept me entertained and getting a nice wig helped with my appearance. I bought one of those ski hats with a pompom on top and braids down the side at Walgreens, where I picked up my prescriptions. I wore this hat at home; it kept my bald head warm. This hat, a type that I always considered silly, became my security blanket.

I was able to function very well during 38 radiation treatment. Toward the end I got very burned but tge rad specialist gave me cream which stopped it immediately. I rested every day after treatment so I could maintain my strength. Good luck.