Resources

When I first started my breast cancer journey, the doctors and the internet were my only resources.  I was assigned a nurse navigator from the cancer center from the start but she never really seemed to answer my questions so I stopped reaching out to her.  I managed somehow these past few months without much else.  A week or two ago though, I got a call from a registered nurse at my insurance company who is my care manager or something to that effect.  She had been available to me from the beginning to help answer any questions I have or find the care I need.  She was actually helpful in pointing out that my oncologist's office offered a triage hotline when I mentioned abdmonial pains to her.  That allowed me to get a abdominal CT a week later, which didn't find anything but gave me some peace of mind. Also around the same time as the call from my insurance, I got a call from someone at the company who managed my workplace benefits.  She offered something similar.  I was surprised both of these services were available to me but I'm only just now finding out - 4 months after my abnormal mammogram results.  I was already done with the two major treatments so the calls came a little late.  I wanted to post about it though in case others in similar situation are looking for resources to guide them in their own journey.  Maybe your insurance or workplace offers similar benefits.  

I did join a few support groups on Facebook related to cancer.  Many women post on these sites asking questions about symptoms or what to expect.  Unfortunately you get a few commenters promoting alternative medicine (or just plain BS) but I think majority of the responses are from actual people who have gone through treatment or about to.  It was interesting to read some of the posts and comments, if nothing else to confirm what you've been reading online.  One thing I learned is that many women who have issues are the ones posting in these online support groups. It's easy to think from all of the problems these women have that you will have them too.  That is not necessarily the case.  For example, many women do have bad side effects from taking Tamoxifen.  But many more do just fine on it and folks have pointed that out in these groups.  I still worry about the side effects of Tamoxifen, especially after having issues from surgery and radiation, but I have decided that I will at least try it to see if I am one of those people who can tolerate it.  

Obviously it's easy to google and find resources on anything online these days.  For convenience though, here are couple to start: National Breast Cancer Foundation, Susan G. Komen.