new here

We did discuss BCG today (he really is big on making sure I have all information) but wanted to wait the three months untill follow up. I did have a single does of chemo (begins with an "M" ?) while in the Hospital.
Now that I am a little calmer I am continuing to research all the information here as well as elsewhere.

John

John,
Glad you found a caring doctor. I suggest you chat with him about BCG treatments during your 3 month follow up visit. There is plenty of information about BCG on this site. You certainly found a GREAT doctor!

Best of luck on your recovery!
Mike

Wup right up side the head from Iowa.

Call for help, John. Patient advocacy, and also call the patient complaint department at the hospital....vent and vent.

And get out of network as soon as possible. And then talk to their insurance people for help.

Stephany in Iowa

John....maybe this was a blessing in disguise? How fast can you run from this doctor and hospital?
Please contact your insurance company and find out exactly what out of network costs you....or who they will approve whereever!! There is a Patient Advocacy site which may be able to help you.
www.patientadvocate.org/
Pat

If Vanderbilt is out of network for you, you may want to contact your insurance to see what your options are. It could be you have to travel somewhere but the travel may cost less than the difference in out of network versus in network.

With regard to the internet, there are very good sites (like this one and some cancer centers) and there are bad ones. If you read on sites about drinking crystals or some lotion or potion that is for sale, then that's a good sign that it is not a good one.

I agree with everyone here that you MUST get a second opinion and it sounds like you are not comfortable with your doctor. That is a strong indicator that you should get a new doctor. You should have confidence in your doctor and should check around until you find one you feel confident with. Any doc that gets defensive over the question of "how many have you done" has most likely not done enough!

With that said, I will tell you that not all of the great docs in uroligic oncology are super with patient interaction. Mine was but I'm all the way in Colorado. When I went to MD Anderson (one of the best in the world), I was not happy at all with the doctor. My doctor knew the doctor at MD Anderson and told me he was highly respected and does great work. I just had a bad experience there that pretty much turned me off. It turned out the guy was right but he did not make me feel comfortable at all. We had to wait over six hours (after our scheduled appointment and the lights were out and the rest of the staff had gone home by the time he came in). My wife and I were not in a good mood by the time he arrived. SO...I opted to get my surgery done at University of Colorado Cancer Center instead of MD Anderson.
It's all a personal choice.

Best of luck with your surgery. Let us know how it goes. Lots of folks here with experience who can help you out.

Mike