The Good Doctor

Hello, friends. It is so important as you go through an illness to be completely confident in your medical team.  If you have any doubt whatsoever, you must examine why you feel that way, because YOU are responsible for being your own best advocate for your personal care.  If you feel like you need to make a change and don’t know how, please revisit this post on how to “break up” with your doctor.

Today I would like to talk about the surgeon that saved my life. In My Story, I spoke of how she pushed me to get tested for the breast cancer gene, and how she would not accept my ambivalence when I was reluctant to do it.  

A few years later, you probably saw her all over the media when it was revealed that she performed a preventative double mastectomy on the world’s most famous actress.  I want to tell you about the doctor that I know, who is both a pioneer and a pretty extraordinary person.

I was lucky enough to get referred to my rock star surgeon, Dr. Kristi Funk, back in 2008.  Her highly regarded breast cancer practice, the Pink Lotus Breast Center, is located in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Funk has incredible skill, compassion and an understanding heart.  When she left Cedars-Sinai to start her own cutting-edge practice, I was thrilled for her and for the people she treats.

The Pink Lotus Breast Center is dedicated to prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.  Pink Lotus’s state of the art centers are run by women, for the benefit of women. And if my opinion of this center being rock star-worthy isn’t enough, musician Sheryl Crow (also treated by Dr. Funk) teamed up with Pink Lotus to create The Sheryl Crow Imaging Center, which features the latest and most advanced digital mammography technology available.

Recently, actress Angelina Jolie revealed that she had a preventative double mastectomy (also called a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy) at Pink Lotus.  While Dr. Funk has treated many names you would recognize, she has also treated countless others, both privileged enough to have health care, and also those who do not.  For me, she insisted that I needed genetic testing, and once that came back positive, she helped me make the difficult decision to have my own preventative double mastectomy. She guided me through the challenging operation and the aftermath of finding out that I shockingly already had cancer in both breasts, undetected in the multitude of tests I had prior to surgery. See? Lifesaver.

Dr. Funk has become the go-to expert on shows like Dr. Oz, The Doctors and CNN.  You can find Dr. Funk’s media appearances on You Tube or check out the features in Los Angeles Magazine and Town and Country.  I can say firsthand that she’s pretty special. And if you watch any of these videos, you’ll see why the information she shares is so vital to so many of us.

Dr. Funk helped me through all aspects of my treatment, both emotional and physical. She continues to monitor my condition closely and help me through the issues I have experienced since my diagnosis. An artist in terms of surgical skill and a brilliant doctor, she is also a loving mother of triplets and a passionate advocate for prevention and education. I consider myself lucky that she is also now my friend.  What more could you ask for in the person who manages your journey back to yourself?

Trusting your medical team makes the overwhelming experience of a serious illness much easier.  I realize that not everyone has the same access to preeminent care centers, but I hope and pray that you are able to get the level of excellent medical care you so surely deserve. I urge you to do the research and find your own rock star!

-AK