Aches, Pains & Concerns ~ Which MD to Call

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Skiffin16
Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
It seems this comes up a lot...and I know that I've had these same concerns and questions.

At what point (and if the concerns are going on in an area that was treated), do you feel comfortable seeing your GM or PCP?

I know that I have had, and still continue to have various aches, pains & concerns with swollen glands, an occasional sore spot in my mouth or throat, and various other bodily places...back, chest, stomach, knees, etc....LOL.

The few times that I have went to see my GP first, he either seems to be non-committal (I think it's because of my history), and doesn't want to step on my other MD's toes.. (I belong to a clinic, so all of my MD professionals are working at the same organization and have access to all of my medical history).

A few times he has prescribed meds to me that when my chemo MD found out, she immediately had me to stop and said what was he thinking.... One such was I was having prolonged aches and pains around my kidney area. My GP prescribed a lot of Motrin....when she found out, she had me stop and scheduled me for an ultrasound and other testing...to date, not sure what the aches were from. that was just one instance out of a few this past year.

Anyways, it has left me a little uncomfortable or confident upon anyone other than my ENT and chemo MD whom have taken excellent care of me this past two years.

I still see the chemo MD every six months, and my ENT every three. But I know the longer I go in time, the less contact and care I will have from them...it's a scary thought as I know the completely know my history.

Thoughts and opinions from others on their experiences.

Best,
John

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  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
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    Hi John
    I too believe all doctors talk to each other to not step on each others prognosis. In my case I believe because I did not do treatment when my Cancer came back the third time I am paying the price now. As soon as I see a new doc and he talks to one of my old doc the first thing out of his mouth is I see a re-occurring, that has been the thing for 5 1/2 years now, when will they STOP, if I had cancer I should be dead, not still alive 5 1/2 years later.

    We are all stuck in this ring of medical fire that is hard to get out of. I told my wife today this is my last time trying to find an ENT to help me get rid of this Mastoid infection here in the USA. From here I will start looking out side of the US for help with someone who has no contact to a doc here.

    I am frustrated and don’t know what else to do as I am now going on 8 months with this infection and getting no where here in the US.

    Sorry to vent on your Post my brother
    Hondo
  • DrMary
    DrMary Member Posts: 531 Member
    #3
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    No experience but was wondering the same thing
    Doug didn't really have a regular GP before all this started since we moved around so much, so I was thinking of asking his chemo guy for a referral.

    I have to agree with your chemo MD that prescribing Motrin, without checking on other possible causes, when the pain is around the kidney area (whether or not you'd been a cancer survivor) sounds a little superficial. If they are all part of a bigger practice, I guess you can't ask the chemo MD for a referral to a different doctor, but I'm not sure I'd want to stay with your GP. (BTW, if you were still undergoing chemo, your chemo MD would have been even more rightously upset, since Motrin would mask preliminary symptoms of infection, such as elevated temperature).

    For now, Doug's been seeing Dr. Mary for the various aches and such - I discussed what OTCs I could give him with both the rad MD and the chemo MD and they told me what to look for in terms of symptoms that should merit a special appointment (like more blood clots or infections). So far, it's just been a cold and a stiff neck. . .
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #4
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    ENT Lead
    I believe and have used the ENT as the lead on my cancer fight. He/she sends us to the Radiation Oncologist and Chemo Oncologist. They specialize in their area.

    I contact my ENT with any and all questions. He will direct or converse with all the others and get back to me. Without doubt I do not wait around I call the ENT with any questions.

    John
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #5
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    fisrpotpe said:

    ENT Lead
    I believe and have used the ENT as the lead on my cancer fight. He/she sends us to the Radiation Oncologist and Chemo Oncologist. They specialize in their area.

    I contact my ENT with any and all questions. He will direct or converse with all the others and get back to me. Without doubt I do not wait around I call the ENT with any questions.

    John

    Same
    My ENT is the lead over all of the team, but my GP wasn't really part of that team. I feel much more confident in both my ENT and Chemo MD. It's just scary thinking that not that long in the future, they won't really be in the loop as much.

    It just seems that no other MD's have a clue on dealing with recent cancer patients. I just had to fire so to speak, my dentist that I've had for awhile. I broke an old piece of filling on a tooth recently. It was sizable and nothing out of the norm for me as I have several old fillings and dental work. With age, they tend to fall apart eventually.

    Anyways this was sizable, and being I had all of the radiation, I didn't want to take a chance on getting an infection. I wanted to try and get him to work me in as soon as possible. He said the earliest he could get me in was two weeks...

    I went to my dental surgeon, whom looked at the tooth, said at that point everything was good and clean. But I need to get it cleaned up and a crown on it ASAP. Again, I called my dentist explaining the situation, still nothing earlier than two weeks.

    My wife was pissed to say the least. She scouted around and within an hour or so had me setup and scheduled the next day from friends recommendations with a new dentist.


    Tim, you're not stepping on my toes or thread, it's all related and good bro...

    JG
  • Dragons7-7-2010
    Dragons7-7-2010 Member Posts: 79
    #6
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    Skiffin16 said:

    Same
    My ENT is the lead over all of the team, but my GP wasn't really part of that team. I feel much more confident in both my ENT and Chemo MD. It's just scary thinking that not that long in the future, they won't really be in the loop as much.

    It just seems that no other MD's have a clue on dealing with recent cancer patients. I just had to fire so to speak, my dentist that I've had for awhile. I broke an old piece of filling on a tooth recently. It was sizable and nothing out of the norm for me as I have several old fillings and dental work. With age, they tend to fall apart eventually.

    Anyways this was sizable, and being I had all of the radiation, I didn't want to take a chance on getting an infection. I wanted to try and get him to work me in as soon as possible. He said the earliest he could get me in was two weeks...

    I went to my dental surgeon, whom looked at the tooth, said at that point everything was good and clean. But I need to get it cleaned up and a crown on it ASAP. Again, I called my dentist explaining the situation, still nothing earlier than two weeks.

    My wife was pissed to say the least. She scouted around and within an hour or so had me setup and scheduled the next day from friends recommendations with a new dentist.


    Tim, you're not stepping on my toes or thread, it's all related and good bro...

    JG

    dentist
    I would be pissed at your dentist too. One thing I am happy about is I have the best dentist in the USA as far as I am concerned. If anyone is in Houston and needs a good dentist Dr. Mark Lee Speck is the best and will always take time to fit in a patient in an emergency and you won't hage to wait 2 weeks now you might have to go see him at 6 am or at 4 pm but he will be there for you whenever you need him. I experience that first hand in 2001 when my crown broke on my birthday and he met me at his office at 6 am on a saturday.

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