Minisode: The Results

Tina 0:00

I'm Dr Tina Kaczor and as Leah likes to say I'm the science-y one

Leah 0:04

and I'm Dr Leah Sherman and on the cancer inside

Tina 0:08

And we're two naturopathic doctors who practice integrative cancer care

Leah 0:12

But we're not your doctors

Tina 0:14

This is for education entertainment and informational purposes only

Leah 0:18

do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor

Tina 0:23

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the hosts and their guests are solely their own

Leah 0:29

Welcome to the cancer pod

Intro

Leah 0:48

Hey Tina. Hi Leah. So we both kind of sound groggy today. I know. Well, it is early. It is early. We are early, but we are early today because we wanted to record an update to my cancer experience that I have been experiencing the past few weeks or month. Has

The back story

Leah 1:09

it been a month already that since all this.

Tina 1:11

Probably. So when we first started and you had an MRI with a suspicious area, that was episode one

Leah 1:18

Yeah, and so that was because I went to see my medical oncologist at the end of August and was complaining about something in my left side, which is the mastectomy. Just a sensation, a weird, occasional pain I was getting. And so she ordered an MRI to check it out. Mm-hmm. But they saw something on the right side. So

Tina 1:41

that was in part one of Leah's story, and by part two of Leah's story, or at least by the time it was being aired, you were getting a biopsy of that suspicious

Leah 1:50

area. Right. We had recorded something at the end. Of part two, just to kind of update and say 10 days, two weeks later, I, I got my biopsy and I'd be getting the results within a few

Drum roll.... the results are...

Leah 2:01

days. Mm-hmm. drum roll please. We got the results and the results were drum roll

Tina 2:08

We're doing air, Air drums.

Leah 2:10

Air drums. Yeah. The results were um, everything was fine. It was fibro cystic changes. Cue applause. Now here comes like the cheers Yeah. No, and that truly, The scariest. Mm-hmm. two, three weeks, you know, was, it was really scary and I think it was far more terrifying than when I was waiting for the results from my initial diagnostic biopsy. Why do you think that is? Um, I mean, I knew that I had cancer the first time cuz it just, the way that, you know, walks like a duck. Talks like a duck. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, I just, I, I kind of was like, Yep, that's what that is. Like, I kind of knew, so it was more, you know, the odd chance that. It wasn't a tumor. Mm-hmm. So this time, well, this time, just because I really wanted to have a double mastectomy so that I wouldn't go through these kinds of scares. Mm-hmm. I, you know, I like rationalized and, you know, listened to the surgeon and I, you know, I kind of like, I feel like I didn't advocate enough and maybe it would've been overkill. I mean, who knows? Because cancer doesn't always come back in abreast. So if you don't have breasts, it's not going to be any guarantee. But it does guarantee against. Scares in the breast, I guess.

Tina 3:22

Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's always a big decision to weigh. And there's your autonomy in your preferences against the professional opinions. And uh, yeah, I guess no matter what you decide, you could always look back and wonder if that was the right decision.

Leah 3:36

We talked about this, um, with Mary Barnhardt too. On how the conversations she had, She was the breast surgeon that we interviewed, or the retired breast surgeon, and she talked about she would have these conversations with her patients to make sure that they were doing what was right for them. And so, yeah, I think I rationalized at the time why the left side was fine, but I knew that there would be these scares because as I was getting my treatment, there were scares as well on the right side. So, mm-hmm. I just wanted to, to give an update because I feel like we did this whole cliffhanger thing, which wasn't really intentional. We were recording episodes in between mm-hmm. and I didn't post any of this on social media just because I've just, I'm not posting anything on social media. just really behind on all of that. So it wasn't anything intentional, but I wanted to kind of give an update because, um, yeah, the results did come back and,

Tina 4:30

and our people are wondering, is Leia

Leah 4:31

okay? Oh. like chomping at the bit

Tina 4:37

In all seriousness, there really are people who are probably wondering how you're doing. I mean, you're gonna downplay that, but there are thousands of listeners ultimately, yes. It's good to tie this in a bow and say, Good biopsy is clear carry on. Dr. Sherman.

Leah stops all supplements?

Leah 4:52

Yes, I have to say I stopped taking a bunch of the supplements that I was taking. I know there aren't any interactions with them, but I was so paranoid. I I just stopped everything.

Tina 5:05

You stopped them when you weren't sure if there was actually cancer present or not? Yeah, because

Leah 5:10

I, I started thinking, what did I do? What have I done to myself? Hmm. I don't think I did that the first time. The first time was more curious like, Hmm, what flipped the switch? And this time. What did I do? How did I make the Tamoxifen stop working? But it wasn't anything that, because everything I'm taking is fine with Tamoxifen. Um, it was just, I, I blamed myself if this was cancer, which I have not done before either. Hmm. So it was just a whole gamut of emotions that I didn't really experience the first

Tina 5:43

time. I think when there's the second time or a recurrence or even a new cancer diagnosis, There's a part of your brain that filed away your experience the first time, right? And so there's this part of your brain that says, Ah, not that again. You know? And it's not a conscious part of our brain. It's, it's a primitive part of our brain. It's like, it's the experiential, bodily, visceral reaction that we have to things that might be something we can't control necessarily, because your brain says one thing, but. Subconscious self knows exactly what you went through the first time, and that might be reacting as well. So making you more anxiety prone the second time around.

Leah 6:18

Yeah, and I think the first time it was very much my, um, the doctory brain, the very like, Okay, this is very matter of fact. This is what's gonna happen. This is, you know mm-hmm. I know the steps. It was the very logical brain the first time, and this time was purely the emotional brain, which is what I think the majority of people experience when they get a cancer diagnosis is that emotional part of the brain. Rarely is it that logical part? and so yeah, it was, it was heavy. It was, it was, um, yeah, it was hard. Yeah.

So what's next for The Cancer Pod?

Tina 6:47

Well, we'll just keep that as our update right there and, uh, we're gonna carry on. Our next episodes are gonna be about talking about complimentary and alternative medicine, and we'll launch with that. Movie. So people's homework might be to watch the movie that we're gonna talk about. Well, we'll use it as our, as our muse,

Leah 7:03

So our next episode we're gonna talk about a film that's on Apple tv and it's called The Cancer Conflict. You do or don't have to watch it? I don't know if I necessarily. It's not a movie review. We're just using it, like you said, like a launching

Tina 7:18

point, and you don't need to see the movie to enjoy the podcast that we're doing, because we're gonna just use it as a stimulus for conversation really. I mean, we'll talk about it a little bit, but you don't have to have seen the movie.

Leah 7:29

We have a lot of questions for each other about that film. Yeah. So, but yeah, that is what we're watching.

Tina 7:35

Um, Oh, it's on Amazon Prime as well. Oh it is?

Leah 7:38

Mm. Any who on that note? I'm Dr. Lea Sherman. And I'm

Tina 7:42

Dr. Tina

Leah 7:42

Kaser, and this

Tina 7:43

is the Cancer Pod. Until next.

Leah 7:46

Thanks for listening to the cancer pod. Remember to subscribe, review and rate us wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates, and as always, this is not medical advice. These are our opinions. Talk to your doctor before changing anything related to your treatment plan. The cancer pod is hosted by me, Dr. Lea Sherman. And by Dr. Tina Caer music is by Kevin McLeod. See you next time.