Patient Profile: All About the Trust
“There are two kinds of doctors,” says breast cancer patient Novelyn Kannaby, “one that is interested in making money, and the other kind that really wants to help people.” Believing that, Ms. Kannaby postponed her cancer treatment for a year until she found an oncologist she trusted.
After discovering a hard lump in her breast in January 2021, Ms. Kannaby went to her primary physician who ordered a series of scans and tests, including a breast biopsy. The phone call that confirmed her breast cancer diagnosis came a couple of months later, in March. Ms. Kannaby, sad and scared, accepted a referral to a local oncologist, ready to treat her cancer and learn about next steps.
The first oncologist she met painted a bleak picture. Ms. Kannaby heard that the chemotherapy she needed was so strong that it would likely damage the function of her liver and kidneys and that it could impact her ability to become pregnant again. Just 35 years old and raising two young children, 1 and 4 years old at the time, Ms. Kannaby felt pressured and hopeless.
When Ms. Kannaby asked if she could get some form of oral chemotherapy started to slow any cancer growth while she did more research and thought about her options, she was given a definitive ‘no’ from that first oncologist. “I was shocked,” said Ms. Kannaby, “I needed treatment for my breast, but my liver and kidneys would be damaged?”
Feeling she had no options, both from the oncologist and her insurance carrier that did not cover other hospitals in her area, Ms. Kannaby did what any doctor would recommend against, “I decided to ignore the oncologist. When my primary doctor called me, I ignored her, too.” Ms. Kannaby paid for some holistic treatments out-of-pocket, but those expenses added up. The calls from the oncologist petered out, but her primary doctor never stopped calling her.
Finally, in January 2022, a full year after she had first detected the lump in her breast, Ms. Kannaby found the courage to reconnect with her primary physician and tell her that she needed a different oncologist. It was then that Ms. Kannaby was referred to Dr. Srilata Gundala, hematologist/oncologist and founder of Hope & Healing Care Center in Hinsdale, Illinois, “I mean, there was ‘hope’ right in the name of the place. I wanted to go there.”
Almost immediately, Ms. Kannaby felt more at ease, “Dr. G is very sweet. She is real and she is kind. She felt like more than a doctor because she really listened to me.” At that first meeting with Dr. Gundala, Ms. Kannaby asked the question she had asked her first oncologist almost a year earlier, “Can I start an oral chemo while I think about my options?” Dr. Gundala said ‘yes’ and that made all the difference for Ms. Kannaby.
Is trust, then, based on a patient hearing what she wants to hear, regardless of a doctor’s expertise? Is trust about holding out until you find a doctor who agrees with you? No, says Dr. Gundala, “When I met Ms. Kannaby and heard her story, it was clear to me that the treatment she desperately needed would only be agreed to if she trusted her doctor. It was my job to hear what Ms. Kannaby was really asking for when she asked for a stop gap type of chemo while she considered her options. Patients need to be listened to, heard, and understood. They need to know their concerns are valid and worth discussion.”
Ms. Kannaby appreciated the difference in approach between the oncologists, “I felt safe with Dr. Gundala. She really listened and saw what I needed, which was to feel like my doctor truly cared about me. She didn’t scare me, and I felt safe with her. The other doctor wanted chemo right away, but Dr. Gundala ordered tests first to monitor my heart and assured me that my liver and kidneys would be monitored during treatment, too.”
The sense of trust and security that Ms. Kannaby felt for Dr. Gundala was put to the test right away. Shortly after their first meeting, Ms. Kannaby noticed some alarming changes in her breast, including bloody discharge. Chemotherapy was started in March 2022 and lasted six cycles. Through her treatments, Ms. Kannaby has experienced some side effects, but has felt well enough to care for her two children, a top priority for her. Now Ms. Kannaby returns to Hope & Healing Care Center for different therapies to keep her bones strengthened and her cancer at bay.
What advice would Ms. Kannaby give to other breast cancer patients? “Go to the doctor that you trust, that is always there for you, who is available and responds right away. Your doctor should not scare you. I have no feelings of doubt with Dr. Gundala, I only feel safe.”
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
