Conflicting advice over treating tumor

May 14, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I’m 88 years old and have developed a breast tumor. One doctor wants to do a mastectomy, but another who knows I have carotid-artery disease and is treating me for it advises not to have the surgery but to take Arimidex to try to shrink the tumor.

I value your answer because I read your articles constantly. I feel confused but am an active person who still drives, cooks, and takes care of myself. I’ll wait for a reply in the paper. Thank you.

DEAR READER: I completely understand where each physician is coming from and why you have received two conflicting recommendations. Let’s address the issue of your breast tumor first. Because your doctor (I am assuming an oncologist) wants to perform a mastectomy, he has apparently determined that you have a malignant tumor. [Read more...]

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Healthy chap not so healthy

February 9, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My 58-year-old husband who is never sick was preparing for a hernia-repair procedure but did not pass the EKG pre-op test. They had him do a stress test, which he also flunked. They did a cardiac catheterization and found the right coronary artery is 100 percent blocked. Another has a 60 percent blockage, and another has two 30 percent blockages. They said they don’t do anything unless a blockage is 70 percent or more and gave him Crestor and metoprolol tartrate.

I guess I assumed with a 100 percent blockage, they would have to do a bypass but that doesn’t appear to be an option. He said they do this for a living and have standards they have to follow and that it is a little artery and a big blockage. Other vessels seem to have taken over for it. [Read more...]

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