How to choose an oncologist
posted October 7, 2009 - 6:25pmIn the maelstrom of pain and anger after a breast cancer diagnosis, a woman must make some incredible decisions during a time of immense stress. Among these decisions is the choice of the best oncologist for treatment now and into the future. Your doctor won't only be treating you through chemo but through maintenance checkups until you are in remission.
Choosing the right oncologist begins before anything is ever done to your body. Because of the truly stressful situation, your doctors need to be chosen before major surgeries, biopsies, or other invasive procedures. Oncologists need to be in on "the game plan" from the beginning. Specialists in oncology are perfectly suited to answer your own questions about lab results and biopsies. In addition, your oncologist will be sitting on the front line with you as you fight your breast cancer. This is someone you will see weekly for a months at a time. He or she is the perfect person to help you evaluate surgical, reconstruction and adjuvant (extra treatment) decisions.
Compassion and caring are fine but the most outstanding oncologists take health care a step further. The best oncologists come highly recommended by your own doctors. Ask your general practitioner or surgeon. Be blunt and simply state, "Who would you have take care of your mom?" This frank question will often net you the best of the best in doctors. Consider asking friends for their recommendations.
Meet with more than one doctor. You don't need to make a hasty decision. Any oncologist should be willing to sit with you, ease your fears and answer any questions completely. Look for these things specifically:
*Professional training and experience
*Personable behavior (you're comfortable with him/her)
*Open communications skills
*Explains things so you can understand
*Kind and caring staff
*Fully explains lab results
*Provide you with options for your treatment plan
*Has vision and sees your future the same way that you do
*Readily consults other physicians for innovative ideas or help
The following are considerations for every physician helping you through your fight with breast cancer. Make sure every doctor treats you with complete respect and that you afforded the courtesy that you deserve as a patient and person.
*Returns phone calls promptly
*Answers questions in a timely manner and in a way you can understand
*Keeps appointments with reasonable wait times
*Emergencies are treated as emergencies
*Treats you as an individual
During this stressful time, it's often hard to find the doctor that meshes best with you. However, be persistent. Your confidence in your treatment plan will increase under the care of a person that you trust. In addition, always take someone with you on any physician evaluation visits. Sometimes, we're just to close to the situation and need some perspective.
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Comments
Joe...
Please forgive me for not seeing this sooner. It's terrible reading about Thomas' story. I know I had a great team of doctors and still mistakes were made. Luckily (I hope), these mistakes won't take me away from my husband and children.
I do believe that making the decision on care providers in a time of such incredible stress create a very dangerous situation. Any cancer patient wants to hear those magic words and tends to choose those doctors that provide the most "hope." When writing this article, I threw myself back into the fray of what Bill and I went through last year with choosing doctors.
Hope is a very powerful tool that I wish doctors would use more carefully when treating cancer patients.
Regards,
Sharon
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Absolutely, make time to find the right oncologist and...
My prayers are always with you, Sharon. My friend Thomas did not have a regular doctor and we didn't know anything about the whole cancer-trek into hell. I took him to emergency one night after he collapsed at my house. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. Almost immediately (like within a day) the emergency department said he needed to begin chemo right away.
He was teamed up with an oncologist who (in my opinion) was more bent on "revenue" over Thomas' feelings. He reminded me of Dr. Gorbles of Nazi-fame. Near the end of Thomas' ordeal all of his so-called health providers abandoned him by telling him he had no chance for survival.
Only one doctor stuck with him on what Thomas' aim was. What was Thomas' aim? To live! Dr. David Gannet was the head of the Radiology at St. Vincent's Hospital in Beaverton, Oregon. During Thomas' last six months Dr. Gannet left St. Vincents and relocated to another practice in the area. He is a top researcher in the field of what is called the Gamma Knife.
Thomas had lung cancer and his oncologist told him surgery would rid him of the cancer since it was in just a small piece of his right lung. (The part no one bothered to mention was that if they did not get all the cancer it could spread to his brain.)
He had the surgery in October of 2006. In November of '06 his was told, "Thomas! You are cancer free, and three weeks later - oops - Well, I guess we didn't get it all and its spread into your brain."
With the brain tumor there was no chance to survive (as his oncologist put it.) and that was that.
When Dr. Gannet left St. Vincents he took Thomas' chart with him. With no help coming from his high and mighty doctors I called to make some type of inquiry (I don't remember what it was). The hospital kept pushing Hospice. Thomas did not want hospice, he wanted to live!
Dr. Gannet was doing research using the Gamma Knife. What is the Gamma Knife? It's a laser device that has an 80% success rate with eliminating brain tumors.
So, while all those other high and mighty bastards - his oncologist included - said sorry, Thomas, you need to call Hospice, Dr. Gannet continued to see Thomas on a regular basis (and he wasn't even his official doctor). He told Thomas, "you'll need to get your weight up to 90 pounds and I'll get you to the Gamma Knife.
Thomas was weighing in at about 75 pounds (he was 5'9" tall). Dr. Gannet's words and promise kept Thomas working to live, working to have hope, working to eat. Dr. Gannet gave Thomas the hope he might just be able to beat the odds!
Dr. Gannet would always give Thomas a big shopping bag of liquid nutrients for gaining weight, and he'd do it free of charge.
So, Sharon, I hope others who read this and embrace your recommendations, because there A LOT of undesirable doctors, specialists, and so-called healthcare providers who - down deep - could care less whether you live or die.
I might I say in closing watch out for those so-called "caring" hospice creatures too. I'd kick them right in their ass on the way out the door.
Thomas' ordeal turned my stomach on America's healthcare system. One word for our system? SCUM!
And, Thomas had maximum insurance...
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