new member breast cancer

[dubs]

Dubs introduced herself in "Welcome" and said that she was in Dept 47.
Penny replied:
"There is a CSF association in Dept 47, CSF Dordogne Sud. If you have a look in the Forum section called CSF Contacts you will see that the Regional Groups are lisetd with all their phone nos. and e-mail addresses. I suggest that you contact them as soon as possible as it is quite likely that a member of their team can come with you to see the consultant and help with any language difficulties. They will also be able to help with any questions which you need formulating.

Very best of luck and if you can't contact Dordogne Sud for any reason, do come back here as we can help you "at a distance" so to speak."

Then Dubs wrote:

"Thanks for reply.I live near to Agen,so not sure if there is a contact in that area.
Do you think it would be advisable when I go to see my surgeon next week ,that I take a fluent speaker with me.My doctor told me that all the specialists speak english!! Also how can I decide which hospital will be the best choice?
Regards."

[pennycsf]

Sorry, I can't help you there, I know where Agen is but am not sure how that tallies with the CSF Dordogne Sud area. I still feel you should telephone/e-mail CSF Dordogne Sud as they may well have someone near you even if they are based further away.

Personally, I think you should take a fluent French speaker with you to ANY consultation. Your GP is probably right and the consultant may well speak English. However, he/she may not be able to handle the nuances of the language or adequateley explain. If you have a French speaker with you, there can be no misunderstanding and you can be certain that your questions have been understood and then satisfactorily answered.

Again, I can only give a personal reply on the choice of hospital. If you do not know anyone with personal experience of hospitals in the area and if there is no other reason to choose one over another, I would ask either the consultant or your GP. The latter has the best experience of seeing the various hospitals in action.

Hope this is helpful, do get back for anything else that we can do to help at this stage.

Penny

[Rawlie]

Hi Dubs,

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I too have had breast cancer so can understand what you are going through. As you are in Agen, I am not sure which hospitals serve that area. I am in the Bordeaux area and when I was diagnosed I didn't know which hospital to use so went along with my gynaecologist's advice and have been extremely happy with the level of care. I do think though that you need to take someone with you that speaks French. I actually speak French but still found it hard taking everything in. Luckily my husband also speaks French so he caught everything that I missed. He also took notes which were very useful afterwards.

Good luck with your appointment.

Regards,

Rawlie

[dubs]

Hi
Thanks for replies.I took your advice and had a fluent french speaker with me.A very good decision ,because i was a bit stressed and therefore would not have taken everything in.
I will have my op 24 feb.They are checking the lymp nodes the day before,and I am feeling a bit stressed about that.Apparently my lump is small ,so it will be a matter of waiting for the results afterwards.I try to keep busy all the time ,but sometimes I feel like a good cry.
Having found this site is wonderfull and I have told all my friends about it.

[biggles]

Hello Dubs
I too have had breast cancer, diagnosed and treated here in France. I am in the south so, like the others, have no knowledge of hospitals in your area, however, like Rawlie, I have only praise for the system, my treatment and the hospital staff generally.

I won't say "don't worry", that is impossible, keeping busy is a good idea. The worst time for me was the waiting. Having any operation is a very stressful experience and not knowing the full diagnosis until the lymph nodes have been checked just adds another level of stress. So I think it is perfectly natural to need a good cry. You will be full of all sorts of emotions and eventually they need to be released.

I, and I am sure everyone on this forum, will be thinking of you especially on the 24th and wishing you well.

Biggles