Back to balancing allopathic and naturopathic care.  It has been our MO to see the Western doctor for a diagnosis and recommendationand then the naturopath.  Two approaches; more informed decision making.  However, once I received the breast cancer diagnosis, we were most comfortable going completely with allopathic care.

This means I only gave myself enough pressure to choose between two options:

1.  mastectomy
2. lumpectomy + radiation

The most comfortable decision for me was fueled by, “What if it comes back?  Our kids are 10 and 13 years old.  Just get it out of me.  Get it all out of me.”  Plus, I wanted nothing to do with chemotherapy or radiation, if it could be helped.  Early detection made a big difference for us and our options.

I was more comortable removing body parts than risking the effects of these treaments and my fears (reasonable or not) of their failure to prevent recurrence.  That was what drove ME.  However, this is something each woman is going to have to come to terms with herself.  I cannot make that decision for everyone.  According to one of my surgeons, the attachment/identity some women have to their breasts can be far greater than their wanting to do anything at all.  Some may choose to go an alternate route, and, there are many.  Some have nothing to do with Western medicine at all.

While there was a 6mm cancerous nodule to remove, we found out later, after pathology, that it was actually 8mm and there was a second one, a 3mm cancerous nodule off the the side on the same breast that they discovered.  This was undetected by the mamogram, the sonogram and the MRI.

I found great relief, in our decision to remove the entire breast.  Not only that, that we removed the second as well.  Now, part of what made me confident in this decision is the dedication and integrity I sensed my breast surgeon had for providing me with information to weigh – sitting with me for an hour or so at a time to go over things at different stages – as well as the pride in continuing to study and master the latest and greatest knowledge and skills in her area of surgury.  She has been provided accolade after accolade for truly caring for her patients and for the incredible strides she has made in the breast surgury field.

That being said, I did not wish to do more research than I could handle, once I made the decision to go for a bilateral mastectomy and DIEP Flap reconstructive surgery and felt a peace over it.  Prayer and well wishes helped beyond imagination.  Two surgeries in, I did everything by the Western medical book.  All the blood tests, CT Scan, MRI, pre-ops, etc…

I stayed away from herbs, red wine, shaving, accupuncture, chiropractic, etc.. as directed prior to my surgery.

But at this stage of having been cleared completely of cancer and been given a clean bill of health by my oncologist, I am working with both him and our former naturopathic doctor.  Both are happy that I am taking a well rounded route to continued healing and overall recovery and rebuilding.

This video is a snippet of my first day on the homeopathic remedy our naturopath put me on.  I am posting this three days post starting on the regimen, and so far, so good!

There are many roads to healing and recovery.  I am grateful I have come this far and have been able to incorporate more natural ways into my healthy lifestyle again!