{"id":221763,"date":"2025-10-18T08:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T08:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/221763\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T08:06:16","slug":"after-her-breast-cancer-diagnosis-this-woman-says-a-doctor-called-her-choices-emotional-but-self-advocacy-helped-her-get-breast-reconstruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/221763\/","title":{"rendered":"After her breast cancer diagnosis, this woman says a doctor called her choices ’emotional’ \u2014 but self-advocacy helped her get breast reconstruction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tanya<\/p>\n

For Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day on Oct. 15, Tanya Persaud is opening up about her experience after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. (Photo by Oktober Kreative)<\/p>\n

If Tanya Persaud has her way, no other woman across Canada will have to navigate the rocky terrain after a breast cancer diagnosis<\/a> like she did. During her experience, she was unaware of all the options she had \u2014 and said her choices were even labelled \u201cemotional\u201d by one of her doctors.<\/p>\n

It all began when Persaud, who lives in the Greater Toronto Area, thought her lymph nodes \u201cfelt really massive\u201d in 2022. She had a tumour removed, while five other potentially precancerous lumps remained in her other breast.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to one Friday in 2024, when Persaud learned her mother had breast cancer. The following Monday, she recalled having her first \u201cscience lesson\u201d with her mom\u2019s surgeon, and then sought out help from her own family doctor amid concerns of a genetic risk. Two days later, Persaud received her own breast cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Soon, she\u2019d battle cancer alongside her mother, while also fighting for her own breast reconstruction surgery \u2014 an option she didn\u2019t know she had at first, and one she told Yahoo Canada she believes all women should have access to.<\/p>\n

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was me, myself and I against the system\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that the nurse had told me at the hospital when I originally saw the surgeon, she said: \u2018Advocate for yourself.\u2019 And I did not know what that meant,\u201d Persaud recalled, explaining that her doctors planned for her to have radiation after her tumour was removed \u2014 and they allegedly never gave her any other option. For many early-stage patients, chemotherapy also isn\u2019t always required for treatment.<\/p>\n

But Persaud was hesitant about committing to radiation therapy due to possible side effects<\/a>, including skin problems like changes to texture and sun sensitivity, along with potential heart problems. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, other side effects of radiation therapy could include fatigue, hair loss, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Moreover, her mother had opted for radiation therapy for her own diagnosis and began explaining the side effects she started experiencing.<\/p>\n

The first question that you ask is, who\u2019s dealing with the outcome? Is it the doctor, or is it me?<\/p>\n

Tanya Persaud<\/p>\n

Persaud would go on to build her own definition of self-advocacy as she researched her diagnosis and various treatment options. \u201cI would advise every woman to read every report, ask questions like a five-year-old curious child and talk to other women,\u201d Persaud said, explaining it was a friend who first told her breast reconstruction was a possibility.<\/p>\n

\"Tanya<\/p>\n

Persaud had a photoshoot to commemorate and celebrate her breasts pre-surgery. The boxing gloves fit thematically: \u201cI had to fight tooth and nail to get to where I am to get the reconstruction that I did,\u201d she shared. (Photo by Oktober Kreative)<\/p>\n

Armed with info from a network of friends and fellow cancer fighters alongside all that research, Persaud became the self-advocate she needed to be. When asked what she\u2019d suggest to others in her position, she suggested standing up for yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first question that you ask is, who\u2019s dealing with the outcome? Is it the doctor, or is it me? Because at the end of the day, I have four daughters,\u201d she explained. \u201cTheir faces were in front of me for every decision that I made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Waqqas Jalil, a plastic surgeon at FORM Face and Body<\/a> in Toronto, explained there are three main avenues available to women in Persaud\u2019s position. This includes radiation, removal of the breasts (going flat, in layman\u2019s terms) or breast reconstruction surgery \u2014 something that he\u2019s a leading expert in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing is just for everybody to have their choice, and their choice can involve doing reconstruction, and their choice can involve not doing it,\u201d Jalil shared. \u201cBut they definitely need to have the ability to make that choice, which is the important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew mentally and emotionally, I did not want to walk around with these breasts anymore. … I felt like my breasts had betrayed me.<\/p>\n

Tanya Persaud<\/p>\n

Persaud recalled visiting her oncologist after her cancer diagnosis and him allegedly telling her, \u201cI\u2019m here to sell you your life insurance policy.\u201d She asked for a mastectomy, and he reportedly told her \u201cgood luck\u201d in finding a surgeon who\u2019d do the procedure. She then asked for breast reconstruction, and the oncologist allegedly said, \u201cThis is the best your breasts are ever going to look.\u201d<\/p>\n

A week later, she said she had a follow-up appointment with a surgeon, where she again asked for a mastectomy. Persaud added that her active lifestyle and love of exercise partially influenced her decision to skip radiation, since it\u2019d prevent her from going to the gym. Plus, mastectomy was an option her mother had also been offered before she chose radiation therapy for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018OK,\u2019 this surgeon reportedly said. \u2018I think you\u2019re making an emotional decision. I think you\u2019re making an emotional decision, and that\u2019s what treatment is for. It\u2019s going to tell your left breast to behave itself,\u2019\u2019\u2019 Persaud recalled being told. \u201cBehave itself. Because I said, \u2018What about the five other masses in my left breast?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Persaud added that part of her original care team allegedly missed her diagnosis after they failed to capture the tissue that housed the cancer. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew it was me, myself and I against the system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Self-advocating as a patient involves asking for what you need, ensuring you\u2019re being respected and discussing your needs. (Photo via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It was Jalil, as a matter of fact, who wrote one presentation that Persaud read. That resulted in her asking for him by name to reconstruct her breasts after a mastectomy removed her cancerous ones. For Persaud, the choice was difficult \u2014 but not complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew mentally and emotionally, I did not want to walk around with these breasts anymore,\u201d Persaud shared. \u201cAs hard as it was to make that decision, I knew. I felt like my breasts had betrayed me. A part of my body that helped nurture life, which is my children, was now betraying me. So it was a decision rooted in survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

How breast reconstruction is changing in Canada<\/p>\n

In Canada, Jalil said the most common form of breast reconstruction is implant-based, but some people can have breasts reconstructed from their own tissue from other parts of the body. Tissue-based reconstructions take longer to heal, about a month to a month and a half, compared to the two to three weeks for implant-based reconstruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very popular technique that has been arriving in the last five to 10 years is doing the reconstruction above the muscle, or what we call pre-pec. That\u2019s been an evolving technique that\u2019s found some really big traction,\u201d Jalil shared, adding that sub-pectoral reconstruction \u2014 using an under-the-muscle technique that Persaud opted for \u2014 has also been rising in popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implant reconstruction field: I would find it to be fascinating, because so many things change,\u201d Jalil added. \u201cEven in 10 years, the technique has changed once or twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every October, Jalil and his colleague, Dr. Ron Somogyi, host a meeting for surgeons across the country for Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day<\/a>, which falls on the third Wednesday of the month. The event brings together experts who conduct mastectomies across Canada and local plastic surgeons to discuss breast reconstruction, advice and advancements in the field. The event is also open to current patients who may be considering surgery, as well as former patients who seek community or want to offer help.<\/p>\n

In many cases, a patient has numerous experts involved in their cancer journey. \u201cIt can be quite overwhelming to have that many people in the circle of care of someone,\u201d Jalil explained. \u201cSo it\u2019s also nice to try to round out the team and figure out different ways to work better alongside each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surgery was life-changing in many ways<\/p>\n

Persaud says that during the recovery period after her breast reconstruction, sleeping on her stomach was a no-go. Moreover, people can\u2019t always squeeze quite as tight as before when they hug her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you bend over, sometimes they feel a little like rocks,\u201d she added. \u201cI did think about the nerves, because you don\u2019t have all your nerve endings. You don\u2019t get the nipple stimulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for her, reconstruction was absolutely worth it \u2014 and not just because, in her mid-40s, it allowed her to keep a feeling of femininity. Persaud also shared how natural her breasts feel and look, noting that if a stranger were to meet her, they likely wouldn\u2019t even know she had implants.<\/p>\n

It came with a cost mentally and emotionally, and it came with me giving up a part of myself that I\u2019m never going to see again.<\/p>\n

Tanya Persaud<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not a boob job and it’s not a \u2018get over it,\u2019 because it came with a cost mentally and emotionally,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it came with me giving up a part of myself that I\u2019m never going to see again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tanya<\/p>\n

Persaud shared that her breast reconstruction surgery was completely worth it \u2014 but it did come with a mental and emotional toll. (Photo by Oktober Kreative)<\/p>\n

Jalil echoed that sentiment, saying reconstruction can offer people a boost to their quality of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people can kind of confuse reconstruction with vanity, but I think that\u2019s the wrong way to think about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s more of thinking about how a woman can fit into clothes, the sense of them still feeling like themselves, like they haven\u2019t lost a body part, the sense of femininity, the sense of still feeling whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, Persaud has shared her journey on social media to help others. She\u2019s also soon planning to become a patient partner, someone who shares their lived experiences as part of a medical research or project team, aiming to improve treatment for future patients. Moreover, she\u2019s planning to attend Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day events, ready to talk to women navigating their own diagnosis about her choice so they can make theirs: \u201cIf this happened to me, there\u2019s other women it\u2019s happening to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually found my voice through this journey,\u201d Persaud added. \u201cNow, when I talk to other women [who have cancer, what I say is] is: \u2018You deal with the outcome, find your voice, because if you don\u2019t, you\u2019re just another thought. You\u2019re just another check mark: \u2018Next patient, next file and let\u2019s keep moving on.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA<\/a>! Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n