HELLO FRIENDS!

I have a lot of tips, tricks, and advice that I like to give people when it comes to a cancer journey and they are all important. One of the most important ones is that you need to surround yourself with a strong health care team but for me, it was one of the hardest things to accomplished. My cancer journey started in January 2015 and in March 2021 I finally said to myself, “man, I have a great team.” 6 years is a long time, it shouldn’t take that long, so let me guide you so that hopefully you can create your own Health Care team quicker!

As part of finding a great Health Care Team, you need to be your Health Advocate. This is so critical it deserves its own Blog Post, which it will get soon! But I am here to tell you, no one will create your team for you. You will get lots of information and links to great resources, but YOU are the one who needs to build your team.

Cancer Health Care Team Resource

Who needs to be on your team?

That is your call. You can create the team you need to help you on your journey. I should note during treatment I have more on my team such as a surgeon, chemo nurses or radiation technicians, etc. But for now, let me tell you about my day-to-day Health Care Team:

Oncologist. This might be the most obvious one, but I think it is important to understand you need to be able to feel comfortable with your oncologist. You are typically assigned, so you may feel like you don’t have a choice, but you do. I have always been fortunate in the oncologist department; my first oncologist was amazing. I did get assigned a new one for this journey. Although I know he is a strong oncologist, he wasn’t the right fit for me. So I got a new oncologist, and she fits into my team great. (More on that story in the upcoming Being Your Own Health Advocate blog post.)

Family Doctor. A lot of people think once you are going through cancer treatment your family doctor takes a back seat to your oncologist. Not true. Your family doctor should still be very much involved in your journey. As an example, during chemo, your Blood Pressure can get wacky. Although it was monitored by my chemo or home nurses if it got out of control, I would check in with my family doctor, not my oncologist to adjust my blood pressure pills. When I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015, I had a horrible family dr. I will tell more of that story in the Being Your Own Health Advocate blog post. But I can say with confidence if I weren’t my own Health Advocate with my former family doctor, I am terrified to think what could have happened with my first cancer. I am SO blessed to have the most AMAZING family doctor now, it took me almost 4 years to transition to my new one, but so grateful to have her now.

Therapist/Group Therapy. I started individual therapy at the recommendation of my first oncologist in 2015. I was not a therapy gal AT ALL. But my oncologist was worried, despite my positivity that he loved, that I wasn’t fully processing the fact that cancer would be a part of my life forever. So I reluctantly went, and I am so glad I did. My therapist is incredible and has really helped me on my journey. She also encouraged me to try group therapy which I started about 3-4 years ago at Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka. I had a very shocking diagnosis and delivery this cancer journey and without my therapists, I truly don’t know how I made it through. I will share more on this story in the Being Your Own Health Advocate blog post.

RVH Cancer Centre Resource

Cancer Community. Being able to have a community around me that “gets” what I am going through has been so important to me, especially during my current cancer journey.  My community rallied around me during my second diagnosis and gave me so much strength and hope. I have been a member of Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka since 2015 and from there is where I have built my cancer community including the social workers who work there as well as the actual members who have gone through, are going through, or living with cancer.

Gilda’s Club Simcoe-Muskoka Resource

My People. As I have mentioned in previous posts about my first cancer, I kept it quiet. This time, thanks to 5 years of therapy, I knew it was important to let people in. I only let a few in at the beginning but I tell you it made all the difference. I didn’t feel as alone as I did on my first journey. I have always had the BEST CAREGIVER IN THE WORLD, my Mom, but it was nice to give her a bit of a break when I was able to talk to others about what I was going through. I have said this a lot and I think it is important to reinforce. You don’t need an army of people. It is quality, not quantity. When you go through something like this you truly figure out who those people are, the ones that are always there for you, no matter what.  I have friends that have become family, and family that have also become friends. I have a small crew, but they mean the world to me and I am so appreciative of their support, and their unconditional love. I am told you get back what you put out, so I feel I have done something right to deserve this group of people, led by my Mom, by my side.

Massage Therapist. I have been seeing my massage therapist since 2014 prior to being diagnosed with cancer. Her wisdom and support during my journeys have been everything. She has really helped me elevate the stress, aches, and pains that come with cancer and cancer treatments. https://www.integratedhealthconnections.com/meet-the-team/

Chiropractor. This is not an exaggeration. My chiropractor helped to save my life. As I mentioned during the time of my first diagnosis, I had a horrible family dr. My Mom was encouraging me to get a second opinion and I was reluctant. Mom’s always know but sometimes we don’t listen! Until I met my new (and current) chiropractor. She did a full physical exam and when hearing about what I was going through she STRONGLY encouraged me to get a second opinion and not give up until my family doctor referred me. I took that advice to heart and thank goodness I did. More on that story in the upcoming Being Your Own Health Advocate blog post. Having a chiropractor to help your body readjust especially after surgery and treatments is so important. https://www.integratedhealthconnections.com/dr-sarah-racicot/

Physio Therapist. I have taken Physiotherapy over the years and always found it helpful. I think it is the fitness buff in me that loves being able to have control over my well-being, so getting to do the work in my healing has always been what I craved. For my new cancer journey, I was on the hunt for a physiotherapist who specialized in cancer, which for me means work on my pelvic core. It took me a while to find her, but I am SO LUCKY to have her on my team.  She not only helps me strengthen my core; she also is a second eye for my cancer check-ups. More on that later. https://getmovingphysio.com/about-us/

Naturopath. I have always had a naturopath in my life. I believe in science and I believe in nature. I think together they can create a well-balanced healthy life. I prefer a holistic approach to my health.  I have always had a good naturopath in my life but with this new cancer  journey, I went on a search for a naturopathic doctor who specializes in oncology. I am so happy I found her; she has made my team complete! Being able to have guidance in food and vitamins is always important but especially when you are going through such harsh treatments that change your body forever. My oncologist is very supportive of my connection with my naturopath for post-treatment work.  https://www.facebook.com/drbeckynd/

So that’s my team! It took me time to curate the perfect team. Lots of research, reaching out to networks, and lots of disappointments along the way but it was all WORTH IT. Let me give you an example of the importance of having a strong health care team while going through your cancer journey. (Although it doesn’t have to just be cancer, it can be any health care journey.)

If you follow me, you know that I just had my 3-month tests/check-up which is always a high-anxiety time for me. A few weeks prior to my 3-month I had what I call a Health Blip. When you are living with cancer you are always uber aware of changes to your health and most of us are VERY proactive to action any concerns.

Early March I was having a physiotherapist appointment and my physiotherapist found something. She was very calm, cool, and collected. She let me know she didn’t think it was cancer but good to be aware and mention it to my oncologist. We were wearing masks of course but I think she could see the fear through my eyes. Let me say here, I asked her to be honest with me. One of the reasons I wanted a pelvic core specialist was so I can stay on top of what is going on in my lady area since my oncologist checkups are now virtual due to the pandemic. I do not want to bury my head in the sand, I want to know what is going on, being proactive versus reactive is critical.

She reassured me and even followed up by email that night to make sure I was okay. She didn’t make me feel like I was overreacting when I said I was going to reach out to my family doctor. She validated my concerns. I then reached out to my family doctor who immediately scheduled some blood work and physical. I got the bloodwork back it was a bit wonky, so I uploaded it to my Naturopath Dr.’s site in hopes she might give me some reassurance and she immediately reached out to once again validated my concerns. She explained it all to me, so I wasn’t as anxious before meeting with my family doctor.  My family doctor also validated my concerns, explained my bloodwork, and did a physical and came to the same conclusion as my physiotherapist, it was too soft to be cancer, probably a skin tag-like thing, but to tell my oncologist just because of my history. I told my oncologist at my appointment, she also validated my concerns and was happy I got it checked. All she asked was “is it bleeding?” I said “nope”, and she said, “should be good!” You can see why I would be so grateful to have done all that proactive work prior to my appointment! LOL

You probably see the pattern within this story – universal validation of my concerns, everyone worked together as a team and everyone took action. Those are the things that you need from your team. As scared as I was, I felt so comforted and supported by my each one of them. THAT is what you need from a team, not judgment, bad mouthing of one another’s opinions or inaction. I hope by that example you can see; it really takes a village. I hope this encourages you to build yours.

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