What's new
By:

Preventable

I have to agree with a lot of posters here about doctors seeming to be uncaring. I got very lucky in my experience to 1) have had a fantastic family doctor since I was 12 and 2) to find an oncologist who, while he did not have the best bedside manor, took his job seriously and the impact it can have on patients lives and 3) found an orthopedic surgical oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute who was one of only a handful of doctors who had dealt with a tumor similar to mine, and happened to be the best doctor I have ever met before or since.

But living outside of Utah I have seen it is a total crap shoot. Seriously a Forrest Gump enterprise: you never know what you're gonna get. I needed surgery on my sinuses to take care of a sleep apnea that was causing some health issues, but doctor after doctor told me it was just allergies. One of them told me it was the altitude even though Utah is a higher altitude than Reno. I went to I think 5 doctors before one referred me to an ENT since I had dealt with my 5th raging sinus infection in 10 months. The ENT did CAT scans and found blockages and issues with cartilage that were causing me to not be able to breathe at night. I had surgery finally after almost 2 years of chasing down the core issue and I have been great ever since. It can really be frustrating.
 
VINYLONE said:
Log, were you ever referred to get a sleep study done?
Click to expand...

Yeah I was. It was determined with the sleep study and the CAT scan that I had obstructive sleep apnea, so they decided on surgery which cleared it up.
 
Millsapa said:
embarked

What were you symptoms for a neck tumor and did the tumor cause a bump on your neck?
Click to expand...

A painless golf ball size lump on the neck yeah. Ear Nose Throat Specialists/Vascular Surgeons/Endocrinologists/Oncologists/General Surgeons/Neurologists/General Practitioners. These were the types of specialists that brushed me off and bounced me from one to another for 3 months until a 75 years old, semi retired oncologist knew what it was just by touching it and his diagnosis was confirmed after surgery. Luckily for me it was not cancerous and i still carry it since it grew back in but i had to be very persistent with all those *gists and go around until i find the right doctor who knows and cares.
 
dodo said:
A painless golf ball size lump on the neck yeah. Ear Nose Throat Specialists/Vascular Surgeons/Endocrinologists/Oncologists/General Surgeons/Neurologists/General Practitioners. These were the types of specialists that brushed me off and bounced me from one to another for 3 months until a 75 years old, semi retired oncologist knew what it was just by touching it and his diagnosis was confirmed after surgery. Luckily for me it was not cancerous and i still carry it since it grew back in but i had to be very persistent with all those *gists and go around until i find the right doctor who knows and cares.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it turned out ok. Things like that are never fun. In bold above is exactly correct. My orthopedic oncologist told me very succinctly that I needed to take control of my medical care. He said in the long run doctors have so much going on and so much pressure they can't give the individual attention the way they once could, so I needed to demand the attention I needed. I really took that to heart. And I am glad I did.
 
LogGrad98 said:
Glad to hear it turned out ok. Things like that are never fun. In bold above is exactly correct. My orthopedic oncologist told me very succinctly that I needed to take control of my medical care. He said in the long run doctors have so much going on and so much pressure they can't give the individual attention the way they once could, so I needed to demand the attention I needed. I really took that to heart. And I am glad I did.
Click to expand...

Great, great advice.
 
VINYLONE said:
Great, great advice.
Click to expand...

It was....but it lead to some funny things too. I had one regimen of chemo that required an antidote (I know right?) and I thought about what my doctor had told me so I hounded the nurses to make sure I didn't miss the antidote dose. One of them got so used to me calling in the middle of the night that when I called for another issue she picked up and said "no I didn't forget your meds in the last 10 minutes". LOL

They were very cool about it. They understood. But it was pretty funny.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top