The results from an initial mammogram concerned doctors enough that Barbara was scheduled for a follow-up appointment for further investigation. A few months later, a sonogram detected a tumour and a biopsy confirmed that it was cancerous.

Barbara was diagnosed with stage 1A breast cancer, which doctors consider to be an early stage of the disease.

The tumour was very small, about the size of a pea, according to Barbara. Doctors performed surgery to remove it, and then checked Barbara’s lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread—they determined that it had not.

Barbara said the surgery went well and she didn’t experience any complications. She was then referred to a medical oncologist, who recommended that she undergo radiation, as recommended by her surgeon, as well as chemotherapy.

I felt the chemo was extreme due to the size and stage of the cancer”

‘I felt the chemo was extreme due to the size and stage of the cancer’ said Barbara, who decided to contact Best Doctors for an expert medical review. She has access to the benefit through her employer.

Best Doctors said they did not think chemo was necessary because of the size of the tumour, the stage it was at, and the fact it hadn’t spread’, she said, adding that the Best Doctors specialist agreed with the treatment recommendation for radiation.

Barbara went ahead with the radiation, undergoing about 20 sessions total in which doctors treated the entire breast where the tumour had been removed. Barbara’s oncologist also recommended hormone therapy, but she decided not to go ahead with it due to the side effects.

Barbara said that not only did she find Best Doctors helpful, they were also quick to get back to her. ‘It was time sensitive and they only had a week or two to get the information, and they got right on it’, she said.

They got everything done in a very timely manner”

Barbara said doctors are now monitoring her—she’ll be following up with her medical oncologist and primary physician in a few months, and is scheduled to undergo a sonogram and mammogram in one year.

Barbara said she would recommend Best Doctors to others, and praised the professionals who handled her case.

‘The nurses who responded were fantastic, and so was the doctor who interviewed me—everyone seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say’, she said.

‘Best Doctors was fantastic’.