17 years later?

I have no idea.  I figure when I am done with hormonal therapy, I will be done . . . but that is years from now.

ballerina06 said:

something's not right with that picture

Your mom could see her primary doctor only in that case. At least she would get an exam and asked about how she was doing. If your mom was diagnosed with DCIS 17 years ago, this is why the Onco is so laxed with her care. I wouldn't continue to pay his mortgage. She should have better care no matter how long it's been.

Or at least that's what she told me on my initial visit 5 years ago.  My visits will go to once yearly when I go off Tamoxifen.  I was told this is protocol, but probably depends on where one receives care.  She will do labs and will order and get the results of my mammograms.  While it is mostly a social visit, I want to continue seeing an oncologist, because they know what to listen to with us and what to observe.   One of my best friends has a recurrence from hell TEN years after original diagnosis.  It's in her bones and lungs.  She had back pain and kept telling her pcp she was a breast cancer survivor.  He told her she had disc disease, rest and take these pain meds.  She no longer saw an oncologist, but guess what?  She sure does now as she is back under the care of one.  It wasn't until the pain was so bad and she ended up in the ER that a CT scan was ordered at the insistence of her husband, a radiation oncologist.  She had been going to her pcp with symptoms for almost a year and no one listened.  Perhaps had she still been seeing her oncologist, this would have been caught before it collapsed her spine.  Would not have prevented a recurrence, of course, but maybe some of the collateral damage might have been avoided.  Of course, we'll never know.

If I'm given a choice, I will choose to see my oncologist once a year forever.  I WILL continue to pay her mortgage. 

Suzanne

disneyfan2008 said:

I was told I will see an

I was told I will see an oncologsit the rest of my life...

 

I am now going annually after 7 yrs..

 

Denise

I agree completely with Suzanne that an oncologist will be much more familiar with what "red flags" to look for with a cancer survivor than a PCP, and when to investigate further.  

I also expect that I'll see my oncologist for the rest of my life, and that he'll continue to do what he does at every visit now:  blood work (though I know that tumor marker blood tests for breast cancer are controversial, and not all doctors agree with doing them), a thorough exam (he palpates pretty much everything from my neck down to my waist), and a conversation about how I'm doing, any new pain or discomfort anywhere, updates on any visits with my other doctors, etc.  To be honest, I've never timed my visits, but they're definitely more than 10 minutes.

My thought is that the problem may be with the particular oncologist your mom is seeing -- maybe he just isn't very attentive or thorough, or rushes through appointments.  I would strongly suggest she consider seeing a new oncologist, even if just for a one-time consult -- after all these years, a fresh perspective might be a good idea anyway.

Traci