What Year Is This ?

24242

You would think that after all the cases of cancer in the world that by now doctors would be looking deeper into chronic illness and pain of patients to see if it could be possible. Instead I still hear the horrors of misdiagnosis and or pure neglect. It upsets me that people suffer terribly and often times without ever really looking for problems.
My Mother In-law from previous marriage was just diagnosed with liver cancer and this woman has been suffering for years and it seems everyone she has seen has put it up to old age or her mind going. Isn't that interesting a common thing when dealing with women who are aging. I didn't have early diagnosis cause they wouldn't check the lump cause I was a healthy young well built woman who showed no signs of being ill, tired not sick.
Well for 2 years this woman has had probems with her back where she could hardly walk. She has had congenative heart failure and now this. My mother inlaw was just given xrays in emergency because this woman has been so ill and no one will do anything. Now in very bad shape, found a huge mass in her liver so did scans including bone scan and you wouldn't believe what they found? There she is in agony and they found this woman had a fractured back and don't know for how long, NO wonder her back has been bothering her, and HOW could they miss a thing like a 6cm tumor in her liver if they even checked anything out. IMAGINE in this day and age. Maybe doctors should come and read some of these sites it might wake them up to what is truly going on out in the real world. I am sorry now that I didn't try a little harder to get her to get the help she needed especially after all I have been through. But she lives on the other side of this country I live in Canada. Why is it seems there are so many doctors out there that don't care, makes it hard on the ones that truly do. Can't go to another doctor there aren't any to go to. A crying shame.

Tara

nasa2537

Hi Tara...I am sorry to hear that your mother-in-law is going through all that. I too, have heard of these things happening. That is why it is so important to educate people of all ages that you need to be your own advocate. If a Dr. says nothing is wrong, and you are still in pain, see another Dr. It is hard for older people to just do that, because I'm sure many of them feel that the Dr. they pick should know what they are doing. I have been blessed with a family Dr. who, if he doiesn't know what is going on, sends you on to a specialist. I searched for an oncologist on the American Cancer Society's site I(actually, searched for a facility, and they set me up with the oncologist when I called), but lucked out, and got an oncologist, who, after the first visit, gave me her beeper number and home phone number because she knew there are always questions when you are newly diagnosed. She sent me to a surgeon who calls himself, sometimes late evening, to tell you of test results, and called at 10:30 p.m. the day of my surgery to see how I was doing. The radiation oncologist he sent me to was the same. So, there are good Dr's out there, but it is so important to seek them out. Don't beat yourself up about this...while I know you would have loved to be psychic and known she needed to seek different opinions, you have had enough to deal with with your cancer. It really makes me mad, too, to see a life in physical turmoil that could have been so different. We just need to tell everyone we know that if you are not satisfied the Dr. you see does the right thing, find another Dr. That is so important. I'll say a special prayer for your mother-in-law, and we'll hope for the best in her situation. God bless you for caring about her! Cyndi

shirlann

nasa2537 said:

Hi Tara...I am sorry to hear that your mother-in-law is going through all that. I too, have heard of these things happening. That is why it is so important to educate people of all ages that you need to be your own advocate. If a Dr. says nothing is wrong, and you are still in pain, see another Dr. It is hard for older people to just do that, because I'm sure many of them feel that the Dr. they pick should know what they are doing. I have been blessed with a family Dr. who, if he doiesn't know what is going on, sends you on to a specialist. I searched for an oncologist on the American Cancer Society's site I(actually, searched for a facility, and they set me up with the oncologist when I called), but lucked out, and got an oncologist, who, after the first visit, gave me her beeper number and home phone number because she knew there are always questions when you are newly diagnosed. She sent me to a surgeon who calls himself, sometimes late evening, to tell you of test results, and called at 10:30 p.m. the day of my surgery to see how I was doing. The radiation oncologist he sent me to was the same. So, there are good Dr's out there, but it is so important to seek them out. Don't beat yourself up about this...while I know you would have loved to be psychic and known she needed to seek different opinions, you have had enough to deal with with your cancer. It really makes me mad, too, to see a life in physical turmoil that could have been so different. We just need to tell everyone we know that if you are not satisfied the Dr. you see does the right thing, find another Dr. That is so important. I'll say a special prayer for your mother-in-law, and we'll hope for the best in her situation. God bless you for caring about her! Cyndi

Hi, dear, in all fairness to the docs, liver cancer is very hard to find like ovarian is. Symptoms are like what most women have all the time in later life, constipation, abdomen pain, etc., etc., if we all ran to the doc every time, we would be there every day. No excuse, believe me I agree with you wholeheartedly, but there is no cure for liver cancer anyway, she would have just had more help with pain, and maybe a few more months. We here in the states are rapidly getting to where our Canadien sisters are, these HMO's pay a bonus to the docs NOT to treat us. I had bad rib pain, 3 years post BC, and went in (asked to see an onc and was refused) then had an x-ray, 4 days go by, I don't hear a word, frantic with fear, I call the radiology office and the girl tells me he said look for a "muscle strain", never mentioned mets! I was furious!, what an idiot. He is trying to be an onc to save money for himself and doesn't even have enough sense to tell the radiologists what to look for. I am still mad. Love & kisses, Shirlann