You like your surgeon??

[Guest guest]

While you may like your surgeon as a person, it sounds like he's not

giving you the best care, and neither is his office. Treatment is

supposed to assist you, and while treatment itself can be stressful,

it should not be adding unnecessary stress by you having to babysit

everything every step of the way.

Miminally, get all of your records from this office (written,

computer, as well as all of your films: mammogram, biopsy, etc) and

go somewhere else for a second opinion. If you like the second

person better, switch. If not, at least you've checked. And your

records ARE yours......based on what you've written so far, I'm

guessing you may get hassled about getting your records. Give them

24 hours notice that you'll be picking up your records at such-and-

such time the next day. Then go there and wait for them; don't let

them push you off. Some staff don't like the inconvenience of

having to hunt stuff down and/or don't want to 'lose' a patient to

another office, so they can make it difficult for you to get your

stuff.

Check for a doctor outside of your current group for a second

opinion. Get a medical oncologist, not just a surgeon, to review

everything. Your cancer was not small, some doctors/groups

recommend an oncologist anyway for anything over 1cm.

Be firm, it's your body, your health; explore options and then

choose.

Good luck.

Suzanne

> OK - here is my story.

>

> I found out about my IDC on Halloween. Spoke to my family dr.

(where

> the biospy results were sent). She recommended a surgeon.

> I called the surgeon and had my first appointment the first week

of

> November.

>

> Surgeon recommended a lumpectomy since tumor was small (1.5 cm) -

he

> is very busy, scheduled lumpectomy on 12/5/06 - which seemed like

a

> long time to wait, but he said it really would'nt matter because

the

> tumor has been growing for between 5 - 10 years, a month is not

going

> to make a difference.

>

> Surgery removed a 4.5 cm tumor, 4 out of 14 nodes were possitive.

> Received call from surgeon - need a reincision.

>

> When in for my follow up for surgery. My surgeon pushed blame on

> the report he received that the information wasn't accurate, tumor

> was grossly underestimated and he concentrated on the superior, as

> indicated on the mamogram/ ultrasound, however, superior margins

were

> clean however the inferior was positive.

>

> Dropped off my disability papers while I was there. They charge

$10

> to fill out paperwork (how pathetic). I requested my papers get

> mailed to my employer to get completed and filed. A week later, my

> employer called me to let me know they never received anything

from

> the doctor's office. When I called the doctor's office, they

claimed

> to have faxed them to disabilty, I said " I specifically requested

> they be sent to my employer " .. three days later, I received them

> back in the mail. I was so suprised that they mailed them to me, I

> called the disability office to see if they were really ever

faxed -

> they had no record of me at all. So, at this point, I feel I was

> lied to and it seemed that they can't follow directions.

>

> Scheduled for 2nd surgury - again, very busy and is not available

> until Jan. 13.

>

> I went in for my pretesting, when the nurse went over all of the

> paperwork and had me sign pre-surgery stuff, she kept reading

right

> breast. I said, no left - she said no the doctor's paperwork all

> says right. She called their dr. office and they made a mistake -

> gee... a MISTAKE???? If it were there breast would they have made

> a " mistake " ... doubt it.

>

> I really like my surgeon, but all of my family thinks I should

find

> another surgeon - what do you guys think? Would you?

> Thanks Rose

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Jan Koelsch

> __________________________________________________

>