Does your oncologist treat disease or patient?

Booberta said:

New Flower
I have no idea what your situation is but if it is possible, I'd find a new doc.

This is your body and your cancer. My goal in this journey is to put together a team that will not only provide the best treatment but treat me as a person. All the science in the world will not help you when your are scared senseless.

You are NOT your disease, you are an individual with a disease, you deserve the best and most compasionate care that is availble to you.

Hope all goes well with you in your journey.

Love and Peace
Roberta

One suggestion
I'm in Human Resources, so document, document, document is my mantra -- and I'm finding I approach cancer the same way. I keep a daily log of my side effects: just a simple Word file on the computer with each date and "morning," "afternoon," and "evening."

I put EVERYTHING in this log -- everything from hair loss updates to my energy level to the more "medical stuff" to side effects that are just plain pissing me off (and I actually write "this is really pissing me off").

I take a copy of my log for my doctor to every appointment, and he really likes it -- he definitely asks me about things I've logged, and is concerned about me as a whole person. It's possible that a log like this could help nudge and remind your doctor a bit that there's more to what you're dealing with on a day-to-day basis than cancer cells.

Just a suggestion,

Traci

New Flower said:

Does your oncologist treat disease or patient?
Roberta,
Thank you for your advice. I am done with my treatments and currently on Tamoxifen. Unfortunately I realize that I need to change my oncologist in the middle of Chemo. Today I have had a three months check up and ready to move on.

Good luck to you!
My oncologist treats the disease and the patient. They go hand in hand. I am on my second oncologist because the first one always seemed so rushed. And, I want my oncologist to take all of the time with me that I need. Dealing with cancer is hard, and, I won't take second hand treatment from anyone. Good luck to you in finding a new oncologist and with chemo.

Lex♥

Thank you .. Thank you..
for the wonderful insight to onc. Not there yet, however, i will take suggestions given.

Bedside manners are currently lacking here in California, where everybody hereis just a number that is until you find a doctor who will really listen and pay attention.

I was recently befriended by a woman who had married 4 times .. she told a group of us, that she felt she had the right to marry as many times, until she got it right...! #4 was the right guy. Taking her advise is what will save our mental and well being.

If a doctor, surgeron, onc, plastics doesn't feel right .. switch. It's our bodies, our lives and our CANCER.


Vicki Sam

Booberta said:

New Flower
I have no idea what your situation is but if it is possible, I'd find a new doc.

This is your body and your cancer. My goal in this journey is to put together a team that will not only provide the best treatment but treat me as a person. All the science in the world will not help you when your are scared senseless.

You are NOT your disease, you are an individual with a disease, you deserve the best and most compasionate care that is availble to you.

Hope all goes well with you in your journey.

Love and Peace
Roberta

I totally agree! I'd find a
I totally agree! I'd find a new doc as well and I love it "You are NOT your disease, you are an individual with a disease." Well said!

I had my first onocologist visit a week ago. I sat on the examining table in the nice robe they give you and when she came into the room she looked at me and said, "Get off the table, I'm going to talk to you as a person." And she had me sit in the chair across from her, eye to eye and she talked to me. Then, she asked me to sit on the table and she examined me. I was impressed. You need somebody who is going to deal with you as a person, not as a disease.

lanie940 said:

My Oncology Surgeon also has
My Oncology Surgeon also has a Science PhD, he is working on a breast cancer vaccine. Actually, I would have participated in his study, but my tumor was too small, he needs it to be early and at least 3 cms He is a wonderful caring Dr/surgeon. The Medical Oncologist of the Cancer team is Japanese and he is a sweetie, very caring, explaining everything. He is the one who ordered the Oncotype Dx test for me.

Very Lucky!
I am one of the very lucky ones ... because I can honestly say that all of the doctors involved in my cancer care have been wonderful. I've trusted their medical knowledge completely ... and when I meet with them they all treat me as though I was their only patient. I can say the same for their staff. I never like I'm asking dumb questions ... or that I am being rushed. I am amazed at how they all "know their own thing" but yet work together. The surgeon did his thing ... then the medical oncologist studied the pathology results and came up with a plan and the radiation oncologist did the same. I am amazed at the knowledge and the science they have in their heads (especially with chemo brain I can add 2 and 2 and come up with 5). They are brilliant...

My only complaint with my medical crew is with my internist. I was taking zoloft and wellbutrin and knew that I was going to be going on tamoxifen soon so I asked him about changing me to effexor. He asked "Why?" and I told him of the discussions I'd been reading here on this site saying zoloft and wellbutrin should NOT be taken with tamoxifen. He asked where I'd heard of that and I told him about this website. He told me not to believe everything I read and asked me for REAL SCIENCE and where that had been written in REAL medical journals. I almost cried because he made me feel like an idiot. Anyway ... he gave me the prescription (I think it was just to get rid of me). He had me thinking I didn't know what I was talking about. So ... I went home and got on the web ... and sure enough there's a ton of information (above and beyond what has been posted on this site). I went to my medical oncologist last week and we talked about tamoxifen and anti-depressant discussion and he assured me that I didn't make it up. I told him what my internist had told me and he said that the information was just getting out (he'd heard about it at a medical conference) ... and that maybe my internist just hadn't heard about it yet. At that point I felt very empowered because thanks to this discussion site ... I was a few steps ahead of the internist!


hugs.
teena