MY LIFE Matters - Health Literacy - 30

A Proactive Approach MAKING DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Lauren and Lucy's
Lives Matter
BY LAUREN TARPLEY
What kind of person
changes their OB 27 weeks
into a pregnancy . . . me, hi!
I did that.
But I had to! Let me explain...
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was initially
referred to a breast surgeon. I didn't know who I was
supposed to see first and in what order things needed
to go, but I quickly figured it out. I also picked up on the
lingo, the language of medicine and cancer. I learned
to heavily rely on my gut instincts. I got the gut feeling
that this doctor wasn't for me. Turns out she wasn't.
She didn't work well with others including her patients.
I got that gut feeling again when I visited my OB, the building where my cancer-related
pain was misdiagnosed, and I had to make some changes. Initially, I was seeing the OBGYN
that I had seen for the last four years. She was my OB while I was pregnant with my
son. One of the partners at that practice told me that the pain I was experiencing in my
armpit was an ingrown hair, which turned out to be cancer that had spread to my lymph
nodes. There is no way I could live with the thought that he may deliver a child of mine
or that I might have to see him in an after-hours or emergency capacity. I tried to work
through these thoughts and concerns, and I just couldn't. I spoke about my concerns with
my current breast surgeon at a follow-up appointment and she referred me to an OB that
specializes in high-risk pregnancies, and more specifically, women who became pregnant
after cancer. They were both a godsend. To be fair, I did my due diligence when I found
out I was pregnant, and in turn I felt like Goldilocks. I could not find an OB better than
30
MY LIFE MATTERS
HEALTH LITERACY ISSUE | SUMMER 2023

MY LIFE Matters - Health Literacy

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