New oncolgist

grannyc
grannyc Member Posts: 63
in Colorectal Cancer #1
I am meeting with my new oncologist today....
my old oncologist called my genral physcian this morning and told him he would like to keep me as his patient, I am condussed about this because I am seeing a ND and a TCM practioner and my old oncologist seems to POOPOO the idea that they will or can do me any good.
I asked my regulat doctor why my onc wanted to keep me and he said because he cares about me and he has been seeing me for 3 years now, but my regular Dr does not know if he is ameanable to being a team player with the intergrated medicine approach.

I will let you know what I think of the new guy but right now I am kind of confussed about why the first onc wants to "keep" me as a patient.

GrannyC

Comments

  • GaryinUK
    GaryinUK Member Posts: 62
    #2
    what are
    Granny C

    What is ND and TCM?

    Gary
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375 Member
    #3
    New Oncologist
    Hey GrannyC.... good for you to be meeting with a new one. Wait and see how that goes and how you feel after meeting him/her. Ask them the questions that you really want to know... are they willing to work with an ND and/or TCM and if not, what is their reasons.

    If you have a really good feeling about the new onc, then the decision will be easy. It's possible your current onc is concerned about you and cares about your treatment... then there's the worst case scenerio which is that he/she doesn't want to lose patients because that would be billable services that he/she has lost (don't take that seriously... I don't know enough about how the US insurance stuff works, put am just going by the gut feeling that everything is for-profit based. I know that not every doctor/specialist is all about the money).

    But what is most important is not all about the doctors... it's all about you and who do YOU feel comfortable with being on your team. It's not a personal thing, it's where you have to make decisions that will work in your favour. Having trust in your oncologist and having them believe in what is important to you is a biggie.

    Gary.... ND = Naturalpathic Doctor. Naturopathic philosophy favors a holistic approach, and finding the least invasive measures necessary for symptom improvement or resolution, thus encouraging minimal use of surgery and unnecessary drugs.

    TCM = Traditional Chinese Medicine. Includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in Asia, primarily in regions that are now part of China and Taiwan. TCM is a common part of medical care throughout East Asia, but is considered a complementary and alternative medical system (CAM) in much of the Western world.

    Cheryl
  • tanstaafl
    tanstaafl Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    #4
    new reality
    It's ok for the doc to ask for material to satisfy himself what you are getting and that effort has been made to adequately consider his program.

    Personally, outside of scheduling, am/pm, empty stomach or meal, I've found few things that interfere with 5FU-LV chemo in our regimen. I would be more concerned about some things intereacting with platinum, as in oxaliplatin, and want various reassurances from whomever takes responsibiity for compatibiity. Probably the ND will do most of the legwork, including a care package of literature for the MD. Or the MD may prefer less contact.

    Scoffing or simple dismissal without any or adequate explanation, when I've taken the time and effort to read the literature carefuly, means "next doctor" to me. I only take attitude when it is backed by accurate knowledge. I am tired of doctors that do not adequately investigate an issue, then using gatekeeping tactics to to "enforce" their will. Not even a question, I won't go back. The MDs need to ask questions to coordinate and be a team player.
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    #5
    GrannyC
    Your oncologist loves you! Seriously, I think it is good you are checking out someone new, + you can choose where you feel the better fit.
  • grannyc
    grannyc Member Posts: 63
    #6
    AnneCan said:

    GrannyC
    Your oncologist loves you! Seriously, I think it is good you are checking out someone new, + you can choose where you feel the better fit.

    new oncologist is a better fit
    I met with the new guy yesterday and he was very informative...much more so than my original onc.
    new onc said he is willing to work with ND andTCM and he also knows my GP doctor who is my naturapath.

    he was encourgaging as my CEA went from 1100 in Feb to 206 last week, so he says something is working it could be the Avastin, the Xeloda or the supplements but he wants me to stay the course right now because we don't know if it is one or all of the treatments I am taking that is making my CEA go down.
    Of coarse he wants to see that number continue to trend down, which we all do!

    he did scare me by saying that if I choose to do nothing I will probably go down hill fast and have maybe 6 months....but he says I look healthy and # are getting better so he is optomistic.

    GrannyC
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #7
    grannyc said:

    new oncologist is a better fit
    I met with the new guy yesterday and he was very informative...much more so than my original onc.
    new onc said he is willing to work with ND andTCM and he also knows my GP doctor who is my naturapath.

    he was encourgaging as my CEA went from 1100 in Feb to 206 last week, so he says something is working it could be the Avastin, the Xeloda or the supplements but he wants me to stay the course right now because we don't know if it is one or all of the treatments I am taking that is making my CEA go down.
    Of coarse he wants to see that number continue to trend down, which we all do!

    he did scare me by saying that if I choose to do nothing I will probably go down hill fast and have maybe 6 months....but he says I look healthy and # are getting better so he is optomistic.

    GrannyC

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