Needle Biospy not performed in 2005 (lump in 2006 was cancer)

PattyNC

Hondo said:

Hi Patty
Good reason to be angry at the doctor but I find most of the doctors these days miss the mark on a first time diagnose, that is why I always like a second opinion. How is he doing after the surgery

Hondo ... Mikey's is due for another PET I think
He is doing well (or so it seems). Even prior to losing his job, Michael's employer canceled their BCBS coverage for all their employees (that happened Mar 1st of this year I believe, then he was terminated July 27 (had been with them since 1998 & before them worked for same company since he was 18 so he has been working steady for 35 yrs .... until being terminated on July 27.

Several other employees where he worked also had cancer ... including the owner's wife & the office manager who are both breat cancer survivors. I guess the owner could afford private coverage for his family. Not sure what we will be doing about Michael getting check-ups now. My husband has rhumatoid arthritis & he has BCBS but even his co-pays & meds take a bite out of our budget. Michael did physical labor and only weights in at 125 lbs now. I am going to help Mikey file for disability (hoping that at least he will be checked by a physician to see if he qualifies--- best case scenario is they will order a PET but that might not be how this procedure works at all .... it is all new to me, so I'm not sure what will happen. If Michael's health is good enough that he can't get disability, he would love to be employed ... however, in this economy & with him being frail, not sure what in the world we will do then. To be honest, I believe his not having teeth or dentures would be a great challenge to his finding a job when there are so many, many healthy applicants for them to choose from. But then I could be wrong about that too. So just taking it a day at a time --- this site is very helpful in so many ways, so I'm glad I finally started to utilize it.

PattyNC

Scambuster said:

No Winners
Hi Patty,

I understand your anger & frustration and this is a common scenario for many people health issues, not just Cancer sufferers. Dealing with the anger is important and you need to purge and move in on as anger is NOT GOOD for us. It is good you have brought it to the surface - now let the good sun shine on it and heal the wound that has festered away for so long.

Remember also we are all very well informed in 'hindsight' in such cases. A doctor is presented with a case which could be caused by a multitude of things. These are especially difficult if they not epithelial tumors, which are far easier to suspect than those imbedded in several layers of tissue. He is not immediately thinking 'Cancer !!" like we do now. If any of us see someone with a lump on their neck we all 100% would say "Get it biospsied NOW". Saying that, he possibly should have done the needle biopsy at that earlier point and has honestly admitted that - but it sounds more as a 'comment' rather than 'remorse' which is perhaps what triggers a reaction of anger. Almost as if he was discussing an obvious word he had missed in a crossword puzzle at the time."Damn, that was 'dumb', ...next.."

I remember as a kid we would be constantly embarrassed by my father who would stop people in the street and tell them to 'get that mole looked at NOW'. He had recently had a Melanoma successfully removed. That was in the early '70s

I think it is important you somehow deal properly with the anger, forgive and move on. Letting the jerk Doctor know would be a benefit to future patients, but don't beat yourself up over it. A legal battle has no real winner unless you are the lawyers I'm afraid.

I was fortunate to have an early diagnosis. My biopsy was done 2 minutes after I sat down in the ENT guys chair 3 hours after my first Doctor appraisal and I had surgery 4 days later only because the weekend fell where it did - other wise it would have been the next day. I did suffer some terrible pain and unnecessary procedures and maybe even Chemo due to one Doctors negligence and misguided persistence or self interest. I have let it go as there is no benefit to 'me' to be upset any longer because 'I' am the important one in this whole series of events involving all those people.

Looking Up and forward.

Scam

Scam ... my husband's family members have maglinant melanoma
I chuckled reading the part about your Dad stopping strangers & telling them to get their mole checked! My husband has 2 older sisters and both had been diagnosed with maglignant melanoma. They both had surgeries (one sister back in the 80's & the other sometime in the 90's). Both are OK now as far as we can tell. My husband's mother lost 3 brothers to this disease & I believe it was in the 70's. My husband goes annually for a check-up. Now that this suject came up ... it is time to schedule his appt. Thanks again to all for your thoughts, guidance and perspective --- people who have already walked the path, can make our own journey safer. Your Dad was actively alerting people to possible danger. Better safe than sorry.

PattyNC

Kimba1505 said:

Another thought
These H&N cancers are also beginning to appear in a very new population: young, healthy, and no risk factors. Primary care physicians may not be up on this new "trend" for quick diagnosis. The silver lining in this is perhaps your brother's doctor, Mark's too, will pick up on this earlier in someone else.

Silver Lining
Yes ... let's hope someone benefits from what happened. Michael's doctor really seemed puzzled & confused when he couldn't find in the chart that he ordered a needle biopsy. I am thinking he usually would have done that & that is why he made his unplanned & very honest comment to me about now we would never know if it had been cancer back then, etc (which caught me completely off guard). He knew Michael was a smoker, a drinker, and worked as a sander since he was 18 & didn't wear protective mask. Had all the markers for being at risk. But even today, Mike seems to be in denial that he ever had the big C. Seems to think he is invincible. Positive thinking is a great benefit, so I'm hoping he is reaping some rewards from still being in denial. His Oct 2009 PET was clean but I'm trying now to figure out how we can get him a checkup now that he has no health insurance and no job (and very little put aside for this rainy day).