Appointment ……..disappointment!

Marie,

WOW! I hope you find a good surgeon soon. You don't need your feelings hurt on top of having cancer....

I COULD call this Doctor a Dirty Dog, but it is Christmas time and I'm looking deep in my heart for an understanding so I can forgive him.

>

Take care,
Rosemary

maria - where do you live? there are lots of excellent surgeons out there who are well worth travelling for. i wouldn't let the doctor you saw today touch me.

one more thing - the "platinum" you heard is "cisplatinum", sometimes shortened to "cisplatin". that combined with gemzar, also known as gemcitabine, are the two common drugs used for chemo when you have bladder cancer.

eileen

I'm so sorry for your awful experience. It's amazing how many of them I've read about on this forum. I'm curious if any of the other folks who've been through this bothered to write a letter to the doctor expressing their disappointment and outlining the reasons. To me it seems the thing to do once you've calmed down and can write an unemotional complaint. Any thoughts?

My appointment lasted approx 10 minute discussion, left to see another patient and returned for another 12 minutes discussion, total of 22 minutes.

- bluntly informed ‘I have 30 patients to see and can’t spend time with you answering your questions

- commented ‘can’t your own doctor do the surgery’

- did an internal exam said ‘I can feel the tumor moving’

- suggested as I have Rheumatoid arthritis best treatment for me:

- chemo and radiation said this is new treatments for BC, did not bother to explain why and he could not however offer me any evidence to support this theory. He said it works for some and not for others.

- he did not ask me how long I had RA, did I take any medications, what impact the RA had on my daily life , do I consult with a rheumatologist…he suggested without any significant information to base a decision on that in the future I may not be able to self cath and this is why I should not have RC

- he had not seen pathology slides and estimated (made a guess) I was stage 2 could not define a or b

- told me I should have a gyn exam………….if he had read my notes he would have noted that I have already had a gyn exam /pap smear which was unremarkable

- did not ask me for my medical notes, lab tests and path report which I was specifically advised to bring to the appointment.

- Dismissed suggestion of TUR for reassessment (last TUR 10/19)

- Suggested I find an oncologist to start chemo and discuss radiation options and when I find an oncologist she/he should contact him for meds………he did not fully discuss proposed meds, mentioned one only which I think he said ‘platinum’

- If I did not want radiation to schedule surgery (he would discuss with me at a later date)

- Left in tears, thanks but no thanks mr specialist, back to the drawing board for another specialist. Very frustrated, time is ticking away and who gives a dam!!!

- Some hope later on spoke with my competent oncology nurse coordinator for advice. Hope for an appointment in few weeks with Oncologist. The OC nurse thinks the ONC could possibly help to find a good surgeon in this area.