My friends I have been in this community and love being here. I ask for your prayers and good wishes

[Ms. Toad]

52. Cancer x 2.

Breast cancer (stage 1, grade I) in 2016. Sarcoma (stage 1/2 (we don't know for sure, since it came out in 2 separate surgeries - so size is unknown) grade II) in 2020)

NED (no evidence of disease) for both, 5 and 9.5 years out. I'm discharged from surveillance for breast cancer - just routine annual mammograms. Still under surveillance for sarcoma (a much more aggressive cancer). CT or X-ray (for metastasis surveillance), plus local palpation every year (it just shifted to annual, from every six months.

Do your own research in medical journals so you can anticipate, rather than react, to whatever your doctor says. It makes it easier to ask questions during the visit with follow-up questions (rather sending notes after the visit).

Advocate for yourself. Medical care these days is one size fits all, unless you demand they treat you as an individual.

Don't be afraid to fire a team that is not a good for. I fired my first breast cancer team because they wanted me to go along and not rock the boat - even when their incompetence was costing me time and money. I shifted primary post surgery surveillance for my sarcoma, because my second opinion (within the same team) was a better care philosophy match for me.

Figure out what you want/need and ask others to adjust to it. Staying home after a partial mastectomy was much more stressful than watching others (who were trying to protect me) try to do my job. When they couldn't adapt to my requests to ask me, before acting and messaging things up, I came back early. That's how I'm wired. However you're wired, let people know and expect them to adapt. You need to be the center of the universe for now.

Good luck.