Opinion Noise in Treatment Decisions

Don't let the noise of other people's opinions distract you from making the right cancer treatment decision.

BY Dana Stewart

PUBLISHED January 26, 2018

Dana Stewart was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 at the age of 32. She is the co-founder of a cancer survivorship organization called The Dragonfly Angel Society. She volunteers as an advocate and mentor, focusing on young adults surviving cancer. She enjoys writing about life as a cancer survivor, as well as connecting survivors to the resources, inspirations and stories that have helped her continue to live her best life, available at www.dragonflyangelsociety.com.

When you are diagnosed with cancer, it no doubt feels like the world is crashing down on you. Everything you knew in your life is gone and a new path lays before you. Whether you like it or not and whether you want to or not, you walk down it. Along that path lies a million questions, and basically no guidance to any answers. You have to go with what is right for you, following, of course, the best laid plan by your medical team.

With all that being said, there are specific treatment decisions that have to be made.

These are decisions you never dreamed you would have to make and none of them come attached with any fun. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago, I had to make decisions that no 32-year-old woman should have to make. It was like a fire storm of questions thrown at me by a multitude of doctors, two days after I heard the words "you have cancer." They asked if I wanted to remove both breasts, remove one breast, do a lumpectomy, what kind of reconstruction did I want, chemo, radiation, maybe a hysterectomy and on and on. I was confused by the first question of whether to keep my breasts and basically tuned out after that. I was so mad that I even had to make that decisions in the first place.

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