APPOINTMENT WITH RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGEON
Dr. Lim referred me to Dr. Aldona Spiegel, a reconstructive surgeon specializing in mastectomy reconstruction and who works closely with Dr. Lim. She discussed the options for reconstruction but seemed to firmly move in the direction of immediate implants as opposed to tissue expanders. She explained that her office would act as the “lead” in defining surgical scheduling, process and recovery. The timeframe would be roughly seven hours of surgery from mastectomy to reconstruction happening consecutively. She will want to see me one more time before the surgery and has requested a stress test with my cardiologist, clearance from him as well as the rheumatologist or GP, and, finally, a full clearance workup by the anesthesia/pre-op department. She is my favorite doctor so far. She is reassuring, positive and has a tremendous reputation in the breast cancer community. Although, Dr. Lim is a very close second. My cardiologist called her “famous” because of her reputation in the medical community. So far, I feel I’m in good hands. But, I will not say that I am truly okay with any of this, really. In another thought, I am still completely in shock how I went from trouble-shooting Lupus to breast cancer. I still find myself saying, “Wait, what?” Moving along.
The C Word 