Radiation Oncologist and Breast Cancer Survivor Shares Her Story

In an instant, Dr. Sue Hwang went from a care provider who had helped thousands through their cancer journeys to a patient facing a cancer diagnosis of her own.

Hwang, a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer, is the section leader of breast radiation oncology at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute in Orlando, Florida, and is an associate professor in radiation oncology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

Her new book, “From Both Sides of the Curtain: Lessons and Reflections From an Oncologist’ Breast Cancer Journey,” chronicles her own time as a patient with breast cancer and a breast cancer survivor.

Hwang sat down for an interview with CURE to discuss the emotional realities of going from provider to patient.

Transcript

What was the transition from care provider to patient like for you?

I don't think there's anything that could actually prepare you for it until you go through it yourself. It's interesting. I think when you do this job right, and I've been doing it for 15 years before I got diagnosed, and when I did get diagnosed, part of me thought, “Well, I guess if I'm going to get a cancer, this is the one to get, because, after all, like, I've guided thousands of women down the path, and I know all the doctors, and I know all the treatment plans.”

Initially I was like, “OK, let me just get through treatment really quickly and then get back to life as I know it.” I mean, I really did, naively, think my expertise kind of buffered me from experiencing the full weight of a cancer diagnosis, if that makes sense.

And then, obviously, when you're going through treatment, I just remember I was home recovering from the mastectomies, sitting in my recliner, and I was thinking, I think my plan of just getting through treatment and getting back to life as I knew it is not a good plan, because when you're sitting there recovering, you realize when you get this diagnosis there's a total shift in everything, life as you knew it is gone. Your perspective on life is different. Everything is just different when you when you get this diagnosis.

So, to answer your question, to go from doctor to patient is a very humbling experience, no matter how much experience you have treating the disease, because as soon as you become the one walking it, nothing prepares you for that. You have to experience yourself to really get it.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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