I am more than Bits and Pieces

Sometimes I get a bit irritated with doctors and having cancer. Sometimes I feel like I am being seen as a bunch of bits and pieces...I am a whole person and it is difficult to remind people of that. Sometimes it seems like the doctors are so concerned with the cancer that they forget who I am and that there are other elements to me.

I suppose that it is only natural. After all, the most pressing issue I have is apparently the cancer one. It annoys me however, that many of the treatments I have had, or that I have done can impact the other areas which are just as pressing.

For instance, my dad had his first heart attack at age 50. He is still alive, but he has had two more. Now, at age 88 he has congestive heart failure. My great-grandmother on my father's side died of a massive heart attack at age 56. My grandfather died of a heart attack at age 68. My mother has IHSS, and her father had heart issues, and it is probable that the angina her mother had was really IHSS as well.

Part of my treatment was to have my ovaries removed at age 38. Of course, since I have had breast cancer, I can't have any kinds of hormone replacement therapies. Yet, estrogen protects the heart. In addition, there is evidence that chemo can negatively impact the heart, not just as a result of CAF. So...where does that leave me?

Looking at patients as a whole person, and indeed, looking at us holistically would be great...but going to a holistic practioner in addition to the regular chorus of doctors I go to now is not in the financial picture. Taking yoga lessons isn't in the financial picture either and neither is Wii fit ....So, I'll have to get some Yoga DVDs and work on this as I can.