Word: motichka
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...year-old survivor of advanced breast cancer, I find it difficult to muster any sympathy for Joanne Motichka [MEDICINE, April 12]. First she chooses to have a mastectomy, then she gets rich from the pictures of her scarred chest, and finally she sues the physician who probably saved her life. What would she have done if he had given her a lumpectomy and then she had suffered a recurrence? Losing my breast was a sad experience, but I have learned that my breast was not the focus of my femininity and sexual appeal. I am now a precious woman...
...stunned to read that Motichka sued her surgeon. The surgeon's recommendation was based on his interpretation of the research and information at the time of her diagnosis. But the ultimate decision was hers. This case did not belong in a courtroom. Whom will she sue if (God forbid) she ever has a recurrence of cancer? LISA E. CAPLAN North Miami Beach...
...insists. Motichka got a copy of her original pathology report, showed it to other physicians and learned that her tumor was not a fast-growing type after all. Moreover, it was small--about the size of a peanut--and did not seem to have spread. In fact, the biopsy that retrieved a sample of the tumor for testing may have removed the whole thing. She feels she had had all the surgery she needed--before the mastectomy. In 1994 Motichka filed the suit that she finally won two weeks ago. Dr. Cody's attorney maintains that his client discussed lumpectomy...
...rather have my breast than the money," says Motichka. She hopes, though, that her case will encourage other women to question their doctors. She claims that "if screening methods, education and prevention techniques were fully put in play, there would be no reason for women to have their breasts removed, period...
...could be treated with a lumpectomy, nonetheless choose a mastectomy, either for added reassurance or to avoid radiation's side effects. And some women at high risk for breast cancer reduce the odds by having their breasts removed protectively, even before they get the disease. That doesn't bother Motichka. At least, she says, "they're making their own decisions...