A Harrowing Ordeal. A Remarkable Rebirth. An Exciting Renaissance.

Image

In May of 2015, Dr. Shazia Hyder was planning a vacation from her job at the Veterans Administration. It did not turn out as she expected. “Before I left, I saw my primary care doctor to get a screening mammogram, all the usual things you do after you’ve turned 40,” Dr. Hyder explains. But she soon received a call at home. Something was very abnormal in the mammogram. Three tests later, it was clear she had Stage 2B breast cancer. It had already spread to her lymph nodes.

“I did some research and chose Dr. Nagaraj as my oncologist, and Dr. Kristi Funk to do the double mastectomy. I have a lot of respect for her. Kristi quietly does a lot of charity work for women who have no insurance or minimal coverage,” Dr. Hyder explains.

When Dr. Hyder started chemotherapy that June, she assured her colleagues that she would continue working. “I had no idea that chemo is like a roller coaster. The first day was okay, the second day was tough, and by the third day I was rushing downhill,” Dr. Hyder recalls. “It was hard to speak, stand, or walk. I never went back to the VA after that. I had six rounds of chemo, lost all my hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, everything. I looked like a porcelain doll.”

In October, Dr. Hyder had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. But things went from bad to worse. “A week after surgery, the right side of my skin started to die — skin ischemia and necrosis. My plastic surgeon said I’d need hyperbaric chamber treatments twice a day.” It was another lesson in how difficult and frustrating it can be to be a patient.

“Every day, I felt terrible. I was in pain, couldn’t move my arms. My husband, Noushad, was so supportive. He had to dress me, drive me to my sessions, and walk me to the tiny chamber where I’d be trapped for two hours. Did I mention that I’m claustrophobic? The only way to cope was to watch movies. I watched a lot of movies,” Dr. Hyder laughs.

The hyperbaric treatments literally saved her skin. But there was more work ahead. “When my cancer was removed, there was still some in the two lymph nodes of my left armpit. I had to go back for 25 radiation sessions — so many that the valet soon knew me by name!”

One Saturday night, Dr. Hyder’s husband rushed her to the hospital. Her whole body was shaking, she was vomiting profusely, and had a fever of 103. She was septic. “It was a real low point for me. I felt things couldn’t get worse,” Dr. Hyder remembers.

But at last, things began to get better. Her return to health felt like a rebirth, so she has just opened a new clinic, appropriately named Renaissance. “I do what I love. And I remember every lesson I learned from having been a patient,” she says.

When she needed malpractice coverage, “I asked a number of people in private practice and everybody said ‘CAP is the best’, and they were right. It has been excellent so far.”

Dr. Hyder is dedicated to helping women who have breast cancer by sharing all she has learned. “I know what it’s like to be uncertain, to have to stay on top of appointments, to be at a loss for what to do next. It was hard to navigate even as a doctor. I want to make it easier.” You can find her informative videos on Facebook (search for “Renaissance MD”) or YouTube (search for “Shazia Hyder”).

“Illness puts life in perspective. What’s really important? Your love and your family. My husband, my son Shaan (age 10), and my daughters Samar (13) and Sara Rose (6) are more precious to me than ever. My mom and my sister-in-law live with me and help. I still have pain. But mostly, I feel lucky.”