Gaye was also at higher risk of a recurrence. She asked her doctor to stop mentioning this at every visit.

Transcript

Every week I had to go to the hospital or every second week and see the cancer doctor. Every week I would go, he would say to me “Gaye, you know you’re really high risk to reoccur.” And I told him, after about the second time, that I didn’t want him to tell me that again. He’s told me once, I know that and I would, if it happened, I would deal with it then. And I told him that I could walk out of this hospital and get hit by a car as well and so I wasn’t going to worry. I’m not going to worry about whether or not I get cancer again. As much as I don’t want to get it, I’ll deal with it if it happens.

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More content

• Alternative and complementary therapies – Gaye
  To improve her taste sensation, Gaye would like to use marijuana and is trying to find a doctor willing to prescribe it.
• Chemotherapy – Gaye
  Gaye's biggest fear was to look like her bald father but her daughter saw a resemblance with Ghandi.
• Surgery – Gaye
  Even though the surgeon advised Gaye to have a double mastectomy, Gaye felt a single was enough.
• Finding and sharing information – Gaye
  Gaye felt that people were focused on feeling sorry for themselves in the support group she visited.
• Follow-up care and the risk of recurrence – Gaye
  Gaye was also at higher risk of a recurrence. She asked her doctor to stop mentioning this at every visit.
• Troubling long-term effects of treatment – Gaye
  Gaye discovered that smoking marijuana temporarily restored her sense of taste and she described her excitement at experiencing flavours again for the first time.
• Treatment for lymphedema – Gaye
  Initially Gaye's swelling was not recognized as lymphedema.