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What Key Questions Should Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients Ask Providers?

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What Key Questions Should Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients Ask Providers? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What key questions should breast cancer patients who are newly diagnosed ask their care providers? Dr. Regina Hampton explains vital points to learn about your specific breast cancer to ensure thorough exploration of treatment options and the best care for you. 

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Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

As a breast surgeon, can you share with us what are some key questions that patients with breast cancer should be asking their team at the beginning of their diagnosis? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

I think it’s important to understand the type of cancer that you have, is it non-invasive, is it invasive, it’s important to know the characteristics of the tumor, is this a hormone-driven tumor, is in a non-hormone-driven tumor or triple-negative tumor? And then to ask in each step, with each discipline with surgery, finding out what are the pros and cons of a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy, when you get to the medical oncologist, finding out the pros and cons of chemotherapy versus hormone therapy, or doing both. How is that delivered? How is this going to affect my daily life? Can I still work if I’m getting chemotherapy? What happens when I get radiation? And what are the options? So, I think it’s just really important to, I’d say, go online and find a list of questions or a lot of great organizations out there that have pointed questions that you should ask each step of the way, many times the navigators will give you booklets and things to read that, have questions. And I think don’t be afraid to turn one visit into two or even three visits to make sure that you’re understanding the options. 

I‘m always troubled when I see patients who maybe years ago might have had some options, but they just rushed through and decided maybe to do mastectomy and they say, “You know what, had I really just stopped and thought about it, I might have made a different decision.” So, I think it’s very important, and I feel as the provider, the provider really should know how to read the room and really be able to pick up on the fact that, “You know what, she’s just not here today, and so…I’m going to stop talking. I’m going to send her away, let her digest this, and we’re going to come on back so we can have another conversation.” And I think as providers, we have to not be afraid, and I know it’s hard because time is tied. And we’re trying to see as many patients, but it’s really important to understand that every patient may need something a little bit different, and really trying to hone in on that, I think is really important as a provider, and making sure that you’re heard because a lot of times I think women of color, men of color as well, are not really heard by the doctor, and many of the doctors come in with their own biases and think, “Oh well, she’s young, she’s automatically going to want a mastectomy,” or “She’s old, we’re going to go ahead with a mastectomy,” well, it’s a matter of really listening to the patient and seeing how you can meet in the middle, and if the patient has to get a treatment that they’re not really keen on getting, but you know it’s the right thing to do. 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

Again, it’s just having that conversation and dialogue so that they understand your reasoning. 

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Thank you. So, Dr. Hampton, it is evident during this interview, and, of course, I also know you personally and professionally, and you have certainly built a reputation of being a compassionate provider. Clearly, you are very committed to communicating with your patients, but the reality is not all of our colleagues are like Dr. Hampton. And so, I’m thinking about something you said about really kind of pushing back, so to speak, sometimes we have to push back in a polite way with our health care providers, and you mentioned maybe the woman is being faced or the man with treatment recommendations and maybe they have some concerns about that, and I know that not every patient feels comfortable disagreeing with their doctor or even engaging in a dialogue where they want to actually have more conversation. So many people, even in 2021, adopt a paternalistic relationship with their doctor where the doctor says, do this, and then they do it. And so, is there any advice that you can give our listeners our watchers, for when they’re in that situation with their breast surgeon or their oncologist, and they’re just not feeling comfortable, they don’t feel like all of the treatment options are being presented, are there any tips that you can provide for that? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

And in those cases, it’s important to go and get a second opinion, it doesn’t mean that you’re saying that that doctor is not a great doctor, you just may want to hear the information. It could be the same information, just presented it in a different way. All of us kind of explain things a little bit differently, and so I think getting a second opinion is important, and if your first doctor is offended that you’re getting a second opinion, you should fire that doctor. I tell my patients like, this is not my journey, this is not about me, this is really about you. Where do you want to go? We will help you get there, we’ll help you get the appointment, because I think it’s important for patients to have that information, so feel empowered and realize you can ask questions of the doctor, we’ve changed medicine and that…it’s a patient-centered approach. It’s not me. The doctor, I know all it’s…you may come in with a new study, let’s talk about it, and if you don’t have a doctor who’s open to hearing that information, then that might not be the doctor for you. 

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Yes, we have to have that type of relationship with our patients where we’re making joint decisions where the patient and their family members are truly brought in as members of the healthcare team. 

What Steps Can Breast Cancer Patients Take To Be More Proactive?

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What Steps Can Breast Cancer Patients Take To Be More Proactive? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What steps can breast cancer patients take to be more proactive in their care? When is it appropriate to voice concerns? Dr. Regina Hampton offers advice for patients and loved ones how to work towards achieving optimal care.

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Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Are there some other practices or key steps that patients can take so that they have a proactive approach in their healthcare and that they can feel more confident in voicing some of these concerns when they’re communicating with their healthcare team? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

I think it’s important to have a support person. And that could be a family member, it could be a neighbor, it could be your best friend. Doesn’t always have to be family, sometimes it’s better to have somebody who’s not family, because sometimes a family, they get you know they get emotionally involved and we get that, but I think it’s important to have another pair of ears because especially when you get a new diagnosis, you’re not going to hear everything, and I know patients. The second somebody says, cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, they just shut down. That’s it. They’re not going to hear. You could tell them, I have a million dollars for you, they’re not hearing you, they’re not going to follow the directions to go get that million dollars because they just have shut down, and even at that second visit, they still are just sort of…I call it the whomp, whomp, whomp. They see my mouth moving, but they’re not really hearing the words, but if they have another support person who can be there to record the conversation, who can take notes, even in the era of telemedicine, somebody can dial in to listen. I’ve been doing family meetings and people have been on the West Coast, or somebody couldn’t get off the work, but there was somebody there who could hear that information, I think that’s so important, and especially as we get more seasoned, Mom and Dad, sometimes they are a little in denial on the information that they can take in, but so important to be there in some form, and with telemedicine, it makes it quite easy to get another pair of ears in the room. 

Absolutely, you are speaking my language, Dr. Hampton, I’m telling you, because the other thing that I always recommend is for patients to have a buddy, and like you said, that may be a family member, it may be a best friend, it may be someone in your church, but I think the studies  say that something somewhere around 30 percent to 40 percent is all that we retain when we go to the doctor’s office, and so like you said, especially if you’re getting bad news, a lot of that information goes out of your brain, and so it’s so important to have a back-up person and that person can sit and take notes, and sometimes they can even remind you of some of the questions that you may have had or some of your concerns, I really, really appreciate you bringing that up.  

 I think it’s also important to take a deep breath, I find people get a cancer diagnosis and they want to just rush through everything. Well, in most cases, cancer doesn’t spread that fast, but there are a lot of decisions to make, and you really should take that time to hear all the options, may need to get a second or third opinion so that you really can make good decisions, you can’t make good decisions if you’re fearful, just can’t do it.  

How Can Breast Cancer Patients Connect to Patient-Centered Care?

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How Can Breast Cancer Patients Connect to Patient-Centered Care? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What actions can breast cancer patients take to connect to patient-centered care? Dr. Regina Hampton shares insights about breast cancer resources that aid in supporting whole care of the patient.

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What Key Questions Should Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients Ask Providers?

Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Something that I see in my field is that most patients and family members are operating from obviously a non-medical viewpoint, and sometimes they just don’t even know what questions to ask, how can we empower patients so that they don’t feel limited in their care, and how do we make them aware of the treatment options that are available? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

So I think the good thing about many breast centers is that they do have what are called navigators, who really sit and hand-hold the patient through the process, and they sit and do one-on-one counseling, they try to find resources to help the patient get through treatment, they hold support groups, they really are a wealth of information and a nice go-between between the patient and the physician or the provider. So trying to find a comprehensive breast center where they have a whole program that’s dedicated to patient-centered care, I think is important. It’s also important that patients be empowered to go online, you can find what questions do I ask? Print it out and bring it to your appointment and ask those questions, and it may take a couple of visits to get those questions answered, but I think it’s important to get the questions answered. If you’re with a provider who is feeling like they don’t have time to answer or they’re blowing you off when you’re answering those questions, guess what? You can fire your doctor and go find another doctor and I don’t think we do that enough. 

I get on my patients and say, “You know what, you all scrutinize when you go buy shoes, when you go buy that cute dress, when you go buy that new car, but we should scrutinize our providers because they’re taking care of our most precious commodity, and that is our body.” 

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

That is absolutely true. I have fired a couple of doctors in my day, and I recommended that some of my family members fired their doctors as well, so I really appreciate that coming from you, Dr. Hampton. And you touched on a little bit on what I’m going to ask next, and not really staying on this advocacy piece, we’ve talked about the importance of patients feeling empowered, and you shared a really good tip which I love, which is writing your questions down, it’s something that I frequently recommend to my clients and my friends and family members.  

How Can Breast Cancer Providers and Patients Help Address BIPOC Disparities?

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How Can Breast Cancer Providers and Patients Help Address BIPOC Disparities? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Can breast cancer providers and patients help address BIPOC disparities? Dr. Regina Hampton provides insight on differences she’s seen with BIPOC patients moving forward after diagnosis and ways patients can empower themselves toward receiving optimal care. 

See More From the Best Care No Matter Where You Live Program

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What Steps Can Breast Cancer Patients Take To Be More Proactive?

Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Dr. Hampton, you mentioned that you in practice have seen differences in the way that your white patients handle their breast cancer diagnosis compared to your Black patients, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to expand on that just a little bit, what are some of those differences that you’ve seen between those two groups? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

So, I noticed that in the white women that I’ve diagnosed, that they just seem to take the diagnosis and are ready to jump on board, ready to move forward with treatment and figuring out what needs to be done. And I’ve found with my African American women, it just, it takes a little bit longer explaining, trying to get them to understand the how, the why, what we’re getting ready to do, and even with that explanation, there’s still some hesitancy. And so, I’m curious to know what is that and why is that? And really hear from the patient’s perspective.   

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

That’s really interesting because, of course, right now in the midst of the pandemic, that just mirrors what we’re seeing with COVID-19 vaccination, and I wonder if what you’re seeing with your African American patients with breast cancer has to do with mistrust, and what we talked about just related to some of the history regarding the treatment of people of color by the health care system and racism and bias, do you think that there’s a level of mistrust of the healthcare system that may be playing into some of that reluctance that you’re seeing? 

Dr. Regina Hampton: 

Absolutely, absolutely, yes. And I’d just be curious to just hear from that patient perspective, I think a lot of those things, as we saw in the pandemic, we carry those things even though so much has changed from back in the day. So, it’s going to be interesting to hear that from the patient perspective and then to be able to hopefully share that information, and I think it could translate, as you were mentioning in to other areas of health, and see if we could then take that to a broader audience and try and make a difference in these disparities.