Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/267235
20 Hudson Valley Parent n March 2014 Marc Habert, MD ...We take care of kids... 104 Fulton Avenue Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Phone: 845.452.1700 www.childrensmedgroup.com THE PEDIATRICIANS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY SM Fishkill Hopewell Junction Hyde Park Kingston Modena Newburgh Pawling Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck You might call Dr. Marc Habert a fresh-air freak – and he encourages his patients and their families to be the same. Dr. Habert is interested in all aspects of pediatric health care, from breast-feeding to sports medicine to caring for special needs. Most of all, he likes being able offer his patients and their families ideas for fun, healthy outdoor activities. That's why Dr. Habert loves being in the Hudson Valley at The Children's Medical Group. CMG is all about kids, and all our staff members excel at what they do. Nine "local" offices offer comprehensive medical services from birth through adolescence. Need a same-day appointment? We've got that. Responsive emergency intervention or superlative care for chronic illness? We're all over that, too. Caring for kids is our life. And we wouldn't have it any other way. Early in the morning, before the office opens, you'll find Dr. Habert out rowing on the Hudson River. Marc Knows Kids. Visit our website or call our main number to schedule an appointment with Dr. Habert in our Fishkill office. Follow us on facebook & twitter he's got a soft, calming accent — a kind of "hippie-painter-Bob-Ross- meets-the-royal-family." We painstakingly go over options for immediate reconstruction follow- ing a double mastectomy. Given my age, I'm not keen on implants. The shelf life for those is about 10 years. I hope to have a long life ahead of me and I don't relish the thought of having to trade them in every de- cade. I instead choose the procedure that uses your own abdominal tissue — essentially using the fat and tissue from a tummy tuck — to recreate the breasts. Nobody has to twist my arm to give up my stubborn postpar- tum pouch in favor of new, perkier breasts. Though this procedure has a lot more recovery time up front, the results are more natural and I won't need as much follow-up care. October 25 I get the call I was expecting. I'm BRCA2 positive. BRCA genes help suppress cancer when they work properly. Mine, however, tested positive for a muta- tion. Those of us born with a BRCA2 mutation have almost a 50/50 shot of developing breast cancer, accord- ing to the National Cancer Institute, and up to 17 percent risk of ovarian cancer. I feel like I should be apologizing to my kids. "Sorry, but Mommy may have given you a horrible gene that will affect you for the rest of your life. Just one more thing to yell at her about when you're a teenager!" November 11 In the wee hours of the morning, I walk into Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt Manor with the fears of a big surgery in the pit of my stom- ach and the overwhelming support of friends and family at my back. When I find out my kids are too young to visit me in the hospital, I fight the sudden urge to flee. Much of what happens next is a blur: There's a meeting with the radiologist, who places radioactive tracers to help the breast surgeons find the lymph nodes needed for biopsy, and the final consultation with Dr. Koch. I bet my husband that I can get the doctor to say something suffi- ciently British. After some coaxing, Dr. Koch rewards me with, "Yes, I will give you a capital set of knock- ers." Score! More than 8 hours later, I'm waking up in the recovery room and then finally being wheeled up to the BREAST CANCER (Continued from Page 18)