Dr. Julie Silver

" Good morning and welcome to exceptional women. This is magic ski Indian Terry whenever canine and shall we always reach out to listeners and we invite you did tell us about a woman you -- know. A local person a backyard hero someone doing great things in her community a role models. Now this morning we're featuring a woman who is all those things and more. She is doctor Julie silver you received an email about the incredible work doctor silver is doing from her coworker in -- and and it is the education and outreach coordinator at a program doctors silver created. At the Spalding Framingham outpatient center it's called restore and it focuses on helping cancer patients. Physically recover after surgery and radiation treatment. Doctor silver is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. And she specializes in helping people recover. From serious injuries and illnesses. At 38 this mother of three learned she had breast cancer. And the focus of her personal and professional life took on new meaning. I asked her to take -- back to 2001. When she had a strange hunch that there was something wrong with her breast."

" I noticed that there was an irregularity on -- my left breast I actually went and had a mammogram. That looked fine I didn't believe it was fine so I went to get a second opinion and I had another mammogram and an ultrasound. And again was told everything was fine two years later. I still felt. Uncomfortable about this one area in my left breast I decided to go back I remember being in the shower and thinking. I need to go back because I have little kids and this is really important and that's when I really felt like hypochondriac. I felt like I was a doctor could seen too many sad things happen to people. But in fact when I went back in 2003. The mammogram showed up right away it there was a problem the surgeon came in and said with tears in her eyes -- your right to -- something I wanted to be right about."

" You have breast cancer is a really scary sentenced to hear how much of the doctor rose up in you I mean did you just -- stamp your feet you say I tried to tell you this two years ago."

" I didn't really feel like that because I know Madison is not a perfect science and I know that patients often feel. As a other doctors should have. CNET should have -- but I went to two very reputable places I had multiple doctors looking at these studies and it really wasn't the dare and terms of the mean -- it I knew was there my body in it was it was exactly where -- the but the studies didn't show. I didn't feel like my doctors let me down at all what I felt. I wish the studies have been better. More sensitive and had been able to pick it up sooner but my doctors did the best they could with the technology they had."

" So in your case intuition played a larger role so do you say to women who have a worry who have that little voice going on inside their heads follow that lead."

" Absolutely sometimes people are. Just worried because they've had a friend or relative has been diagnosed with breast cancer because breast cancer so common and it's in the media all the time women can tend to be overly worried about. Getting it on the other hand. They're planning -- stories like mine. Where a young woman with no family history no reason to have breast cancer no suspicion that she would have -- I was even old enough to have my first mammogram. There -- funny stories like mine."

" They save it breast cancer changes you from the inside out is that true for you."

" I've worked with a lot of people with serious illnesses and I think all serious illnesses challenge people and change them it's certainly teaches you some life lessons that you have to make the best out of whatever situation you have and go from there."

" For those of you just joining us good morning you've landed on magic 16 point seven this is exceptional women good morning it's -- Indio and in a spotlight. Wife mother doctor -- and breast cancer survivor. Doctor Julie silver she's the creator of a program called restore. At Spaulding rehabilitation hospitals Framingham outpatient center doctor silver is also the author. Of a book called after cancer treatment heal faster better stronger and we welcome -- to magic today. Let's move on to your treatment and your recovery during that time you discovered something was missing in the cancer treatment model what was the house."

" One thinks it's really ironic about cancer treatment. Is that usually when you go to the doctor let's say you have pneumonia and you feel terrible and you go to the doctor the doctor gives you medications that make you feel better cancers exactly the opposite. Most people going in feeling pretty good and that treatment makes you sicker and sicker and sicker that's not the usual case with Madison. I really appreciate anti as a patient myself and when I started treatment I felt pretty good and by the and it treatment I felt horrible and I diet warehouse something needs to be done about this end of treatment of feeling of being the condition in pain having profound fatigue I founded restore to work on physical healing after cancer treatment tell me what restore stands for. Recovering energy and strength through. Oncology -- politician excellent that's a mouthful how the program going terrific we started with the breast cancer pilot. And helped numerous women. Physically recover from breast cancer treatment ironically. People have been hearing about this program who don't have breast cancer but have other kinds of cancers and we've started to include them in our program. So we're working with people who have. Cervical cancer uterine cancer hodgkin's disease and so on."

" I had a chance to meet a woman about a week or two ago who was having her nails done in this lovely place that I go to Indonesia I should actually give them a plug it's called Venus -- girls -- in everyone's having a chat. And into the place walks a woman who has just had chemo treatment and her husband and dropped her off and she was completely exhausted and really I guess her feet hurt and she was a breast cancer survivor was in the middle of treatment. He noticed that a lot of people. We're afraid of her just even being around her and I struck up a conversation with -- and and tried to be her friend. Can you tell me how to talk to someone who's going through something like this."

" I think it's really interesting because my patients -- for years that when someone sees them. With a brace or cracks that there really throws them off and that they just don't know what to say and I found that when I was going to treatment I looked really sex. And I would go to restaurant with my husband and the waitress would be afraid to look at me and what sort of asked me a question while turning her eyes to the side or looking at my husband and it was clean air. That people were uncomfortable some people aren't comfortable talking to me. And this was so different than it had been in the past and I thought of my sister allahu which was pregnant at something called -- policy. In which her half of her face was paralyzed and she couldn't smile. And she said you know my life was so different with my first pregnancy when -- smile. In my second pregnancy I couldn't smile and people reacted completely differently to -- I think. The main thing to say is it just treat someone like Q we treat them normally the main thing is to just be yourself and an act the way you would with anyone."

" You've also written a book published in 2006. By Johns Hopkins university press this is after cancer treatment heal faster better stronger what's the message of the book."

" The message is really on physical healing and when I decided to write that book I pitched the idea to several publishers. And one of the things that I told them was met with all the cancer literature and there is quite a bit of cancer literature there's absolutely nothing. In a book form on physical healing different presses were extremely interested in this idea and I decided to go with Johns Hopkins university press and write this book about what it takes to physically recover from cancer treatment."

" You are also the recipient of the 2006 American Cancer Society lain Adams quality of life award congratulations and thank -- what does winning an award like that mean to you could you imagine yourself being in this place a couple of years ago."

" You know I really couldn't have imagined myself doing -- I think what that award means to me is that the American Cancer Society. Who really understands. That there's this boy aid. In helping people recover physically from cancer treatment. And that its recognition. Of this important part of Madison and many years has been neglected."

" You actually surprised me today when you came in for our interview. Showed me an early chapter in the book called the Genesis of this book which is after cancer treatment and when -- receiving this award for. And it talks about the fact that you had been asked. To come to the exceptional women awards a few years ago and were inspired by the women that she met there in particular doctor Madeleine Cavallo who was the winner of our health care award that year and taken that's 2004. So tell me about that afternoon when you were sitting marrying you see you say you had no hair that day."

" I was called and I I was feeling very weak and tired in it was a big effort for me to go their hectic commute an hour to get in and find parking and and I was sitting there at a table with some other cancer survivors and listening to Matalin Carville tell her story she commented how when she was done with cancer treatment. She said to her doctors so now way and they said you're done my oncologist is just terrific he's an excellent doctors saved my life really terrific and I have. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about him when I was done with my team and I said what now -- he said you're done go back to work I couldn't go back to work very easily I couldn't function very easily not only did I still look really sick I felt really sick so -- but about how Madeleine cabello rehabilitated herself and then I thought of a plan for. Need to rehabilitate myself and I thought. Well also there's two doctors in the room and we both know how to recover. But what about all these other people who don't know what it's going to take to recover and don't have the tools and that's when I really got the idea both for the restore program and also for this."

" Iraq and that's what it's all about it's heal faster better stronger after cancer treatment. Good morning welcome to exceptional women in the spotlight doctor Julie silver. She is a wife a mother and author of breast cancer survivor she's the creator of a program called restore and Spaulding rehabilitation hospitals Framingham outpatient center she's also the author of the book after cancer treatment. Heals faster better stronger. This year's winner of the 2006 American Cancer Society lain Adams. Quality of life award let's go to the personal side your family your friends how did they handle your breast cancer diagnosis."

" Well my friends and my Champlain and my co workers were wonderful. I may have heard many stories of where it hasn't been the case but from me I had nothing but positive experience is the hard part for me and what I wrote about in my book. Was not that people were willing to help the I didn't really want the help I needed it though. But I didn't want it it was so hard for me to go from being in charge of my family and taking care examined and been in charge of my practice to. Needing help from other people are now is really difficult for me. One thing that I learned is that when you're -- now especially when it's a fairly sudden illness is your life basically stops that you don't meet new people and the same way that you do when you're not -- whoever you've -- in the past -- lives -- in the -- those are the ones that you're left -- I thought that was so interesting because all of a sudden I really took stock -- relationships and cool. I had relationships with those -- the people that -- came forward and helped me. And I was really blasts I found that in fact I. I did a pretty good job of having relationships with different people and I vowed that when I was better I was going to work harder to have good relationships with people to care about people and make a difference and other people's lives in terms of my family was a very heart and my children but one thing that is really helpful in medicine is to know that your children generally do it as well as you -- It take you is the role model and really follow in however you behave if you act very depressed in your very scared and they're very depressed and scared. Which doesn't mean that you hide things from them necessarily because of course you're gonna be very sad and of course are gonna be worried they're going to hear the word cancer so you'd better say it first -- story that I talent my book is I was taking a walk around my neighborhood and my. Daughter who's in grade school was with me and my neighbor came up to me and said. Almighty god -- I heard you were sick how terrible this must be so awful you have cancer I can't believe it. And my daughter staying there. Why died just horrified at this exchange and this woman going on and on about how terrible it is that I have cancer and I was thankful that I had warned my -- talk about the word cancer and warned her that some people may react like that but I also wanted to tell this woman you know. Don't talk that we affront to my daughter that's really hurtful to her one thing that's really helpful is to make sure that if you're talking in front of someone's children. That your careful about what they hear."

" Your children and seeing their mom sick. Was that the hardest part."

" For me that was the hardest part knowing that my children had to suffer while I did was terrible I wish I could've just suffered alone that's also the way I felt about my friends. And the rest of my family's I wish. They didn't need their help I wish they didn't have to watch me. Be so sick but I didn't have a choice about that and so I have to console myself with the fact that my children. Are resilient and that hopefully they've learned some lessons and that they'll be more and half thick and that -- also realize that you can go to something really bad and still have a good life."

" For those of you just joining us good morning in the spotlight a woman nominated by a coworker and certainly deserves to be they're welcome to the exceptional women her name is doctor Julie silver she's the creator of a program called restore at Spaulding rehabilitation hospitals. Framingham outpatient center. She's also the author of a bookie you should go out and buy it's called after cancer treatment heal faster better stronger she is a breast cancer survivor a wife a mother and a doctor tough question but we always ask it of women who have gone to the dark side. Tell us about your darkest moment. And how he got through it."

" Well there are a lot of dark moments I went back after two years and had a third. Investigation about the cancer and was really expecting to be told I was hypochondriac in fact the search and came men and the tears in her eyes and said now you have cancer I'm sorry you're right I was alone and of course my husband would've gone with me had we had any. Real suspicion and I. -- truly believe that I was fine and that I was just being overly cautious so that was a really dark moment to be alone and to receive that news. It to have it be such bad news and also -- now that it had been two years so I immediately assumed the worse which didn't turn out to be true but it's not completely off base assumption when there's when there's a delay in diagnosis certainly. Things can be a lot worse then than they would have been if if it was picked up two years earlier another dark mama was kind of funny I was having my treatment Atlanta hospitals and -- stand and I -- had just had chemotherapy and walked out with a friend of mind to it. Her car -- couldn't find her car anywhere. And you drink a lot of water. When you have chemotherapy to try to flash. Your body of the toxins so I had to go to the bathroom it was freezing freezing cold bitter winner I was feeling horrible I was not says and in pain."

" And we couldn't find her car anywhere and so finally we located her car next to the kiosk. And that he is ballet parker had smashed the entire car. And it was all. Taped up with duct tape and plastic we got into the car and they actually made us pay for parking. And then we drove home. In this freezing winter night. With the wind is whipping through this plastic and duct tape and and we -- laughing and and sort of crying at the same time it was just a terrible. Experience but also when you say this cannot be happening to me."

" And on the other side of the coin tell me about when you knew you were gonna make."

" There were a lot of times when I felt really hopeful when I was told my prognosis and that I didn't have the kind of prognosis than expected after a delay of two years there was a huge relief I can't even tell you how worried I was before that I am not somebody who gets terribly terribly worried that I was just absolutely sick and can't even explain how I felt another great thing was when my name was finished my treatment and I started exercising. I went to a personal trainer -- just terrific. And I recommend that for people if they can do that it's really a great way to work out and he -- an exercise testing and I tested out as a sixty year old woman and I was very discouraged by that but then within a few months I was retested and tested much more to my normal age. And I felt like that's in I I really am making progress here this is great you meet other people can do this I can do this. I can heal faster better and stronger."

" Given your advice to doctors who may be listening to this interview today who are treating women with breast cancer and the other question is do you think women do it better than men or is this not a gender thing."

" really think it's a gender thing women certainly have different perspectives than men do the main thing is really how -- sick. The doctor is and whether they really understand. Where this particular woman is coming from for me having breast cancer was the very heart I have. A lot of patience and my restore program whose sisters have had breast cancer or their mother has neither very. Different and much more positive outlook than I did initially. Because they had this long history and all these connections with people who'd done very well to them it's a real bump in the road and for me the only experience I had was my mom's best friend dying of breast cancer right before I was diagnosed. No one else in my family had cancer no one had breast cancer for meet with my mom's best friend and watching that whole scenario it colored what I thought about my own prognosis I remember telling my mom about having breast cancer. And I told her on the phone because she's in California mom not everyone with breast cancer die is in fact most women don't and I told -- that because her only experience was with someone who died -- I think that it's really important understand different perspective some women may be. Very thrown off by this other women may really take it in stride for what matters is to understand that there's different ways of approaching this."

" We have a couple of questions that we ask every woman who sits where you are today. What this woman power."

" Women how are is all of the things that are in name width. The female perspective. Including. Bearing children. Raising children relating to other women in the way that we do. I'm watching my daughter goes through school now and watching my son and there they had their friends are so different the way they related so a totally different. And I can just see this young woman emerging from my daughter and it's different than a young man that's emerging from my son. At the end of the day. What matters most I think that the only reason that we're here on this earth is to try and do good work. I think that you can do that a lot of different ways every day that's the goal is just to be the best person you can be and to care about as many people as you can and to leave the world a little bit better place."

" Talked a little bit about your children. -- became a better doctor when you became a mom."

" Meteorite dead I I certain lane and more patient over the years I'm more patient I think that comes from. Just age and also from dealing with my children."

" 10152025. Years from now if you look back on this period of your life how will you see it."

" That's interesting I think I'll see it as an opportunity for growth I think also seeing is a period where there were challenges that are hard and I wouldn't wished them on anyone. Many people go to difficult things and that I wasn't in any way singled out or. Special that is just part if life and what you have to DO."

" They say there's a river that flows between mother and daughter. I know you said when you called your mom and told her that you had breast cancer you -- just afraid to scare her and obviously she was frightened and you've talked a little bit about your daughter as your daughter grows up and thinks about this period in your life how do you think she'll remember it DC she'll be filled with fear or do you think she made it through okay."

" I think my mom aged ten years my having cancer really age to my mom that was hard for me in I have to diners I talked about one in my -- my other daughter was only three when I was diagnosed in at one point I remember she said to me mommy you don't look pretty anymore and that was really her way of saying something's not -- then when she was five she told me. Money when you're sick at that you're going to die. She never said that's when she was three because she didn't have the words and I had talked about that with -- my children actually I may hope that -- children all of them but my daughters especially will know at that you can go through something really difficult and still have a good life that's my message to them because I do have a good life I want them to see that and know that difficult things don't mean that you have a terrible life."

" I think you'll agree she's got all the right stuff. Doctor Julie silver joins hundreds of women who have given voice to this program. Women who gave with arms wide open women who have thrown their shoulders back and fight the good fight. They are role models for assault our thanks also go out to in -- Rubin of the Spalding Framingham outpatient centers restore program. She suggested we feature her coworker the program's creator. Doctor silver on this -- it gives us great joy also to know that doctor silver attended our exceptional women event in 2004. And it was there that she was inspired by that year's health care recipient doctor Madeleine Cavallo. Also position and a breast cancer survivor. Good really does go around. Doctor Julie silver is going strong with the new book. After cancer treatment heal faster better stronger it's published by Johns Hopkins university press. And it's now available wherever books are sold. If you know someone who's doing great things in their community someone -- beaten the odds in the toughest of times we'd love to hear her story. Just go to magic 1067 dot com. This is magic scanned DO Terri join my radio partner gay -- an -- Every Sunday morning at this time for another edition of exceptional women. Radio portraits of women who will inspire you."