Medical oncologist

I think unfortunately many oncologist are afflicted wtih tunnel vision. They are so very focused on the disease itself and its treatments that they are often unable to, or don't have time to consider the bigger picture. It's a bit of a cliche I suppose but they are treating the disease instead of the person in many cases. I guess most of the time this approach 'works'  but not always.

I had an aunt (by marriage) who was treated for estrogen positive breast cancer several years ago. She was, like many of us, presecribed tamoxifen. Yes the tamoxifen worked, she was free of cancer when she died (in her early 60s) but her liver failed. Perhaps the fact that she had been obese most of her life meant that her liver was already compromised - quite fatty - and stressing it further with tamoxifen was a bridge too far. Surely you would think that the doctors would take this into account. But apparently not.

I accept that our doctors are very busy people and very knowledgable in their field, but I think we need to remain constantly viigilent and keep ourselves as well informed as we can about our overall health to have the best chance of beating BC and staying healthy. As I've said previously my oncologist completely dismisses the liver issue and has said pelvic ultrasounds for women on tamoxifen are a waste of money! But I will be asking my GP for a liver function test and a referral for an ultrasound when I next go in for a check up. I want to know if they are problems before they get serious.

Stay strong ladies. We need to stand for ourselves and not be intimidated by arrogant medical professionals.