Toward the end of 2009, Dr. Irene Wapnir, Chief of Breast Surgery at Stanford's Cancer Center, did a core biopsy and two lumpectomies on me. All were extremely disturbing experiences.
For the core biopsy, the intern didn't give me enough lidocaine and Dr. Wapnir never checked to see that my breast was fully numb before she pulled the trigger. Unbelievable screaming pain.
Dr. Wapnir never told me what to expect from my lumpectomy, and when I asked questions, she avoided looking at me and rarely gave a substantive answer. It was clear to me that she was an extremely self-absorbed person. When I arrived at Stanford for my surgery, I was handed paperwork to sign. That was the first time I saw the words "full axillary lymph node dissection." I didn't know what that was. But my surgery was scheduled to start within minutes. In my previous visit with Dr. Wapnir, she had told me that my lymph nodes would be biopsied. That was all. I was so uninformed that I had asked her if the lymph node biopsy could be done with a local anesthetic instead of a general -- like my breast biopsy. She just looked at me and smiled with amusement. She never answered my question. I had no idea that at the end of my surgery, all of my lymph nodes in my armpit would be gone. Dr. Wapnir never talked to me about the profound physical consequences of a full axillary lymph node dissection.
When my margins were not completely clear, I was tortured by the thought that this uncommunicative surgeon was going to cut me open again. But I mistakenly figured that she was the best one to do the re-excision because I thought she knew my breast the best. This was the single biggest mistake I ever made in my life. In the re-excision, she got clean margins alright. A big chunk of tissue was removed and there was not a single cell of cancer in it. She took out the muscle behind my breast and even some of the muscle along my side -- even though the MRI showed that there was no cancer in any of these tissues. Not a single cell of cancer. At my follow-up appointment -- my LAST appointment at Stanford -- I asked Dr. Wapnir how much muscle she took out. She leaned into her computer with a defensive, scrunched up look on her face and said, "Well.... well... you still have your interstitial muscles." (Did she mean "intercostal muscles?") Again, she would not answer me. I got the answer to my question by reading my pathology and surgical reports.
After my first surgery, I asked Dr. Wapnir about exercises I could do to get back the mobility in my arm. She said, "I don't believe in exercises, but you can talk to the nurse." She also told me she doesn't believe in drains after surgery; so after my second surgery, I developed a huge hematoma (internal bleeding) that went from my nipple to my waist.
It's now been four years since Dr. Wapnir performed two lumpectomies and a full axillary lymph node dissection on me, and I live in constant pain despite lots of physical therapy. It's no surprise that I was left with painful lymphedema. Now I have to manage the lymphedema several times a day. My arm is weak and I have an ugly, mutilated breast.
After my re-excision surgery, I walked away from Stanford forever, full of regret. When one of my new doctors read my surgical report and pathology report, he was shocked. He said, "You would be hard pressed to find a more aggressive surgeon anywhere in Northern Caifornia. I am really mad at her." Another doctor read my reports and then grabbed his red face in anger. He said, "You have been SO overtreated. When will these doctors ever learn?!"
All That Glitters is Not Gold; and Stanford's Cancer Center is not always what it appears to be. Do not be deceived by the title "Chief of Breast Surgery" and the powerful PR machine that Stanford employs. I wish I had been more cautious before signing up with a surgeon there. read more
