Oncology & A Second Opinion

We finally had our meeting with the oncologist on Friday and it's probably ranked up there as one of the worst experiences I've had since this whole ordeal has started.  We got there about 5 minutes late for our 10:30 appointment, but obviously that didn't matter as we sat in the lobby until 11:30 before being called back to an exam room.  At one point I looked at Brian and said there was NO WAY I'd come back to this particular place to have my treatments.  After getting called back into the exam room we were faced with a nurse that I politely call "an idiot"  She either DIDN'T read my chart, or read through it so quickly she didn't have her facts straight when she started talking to me, first referring to the surgery I'd had on the LEFT side :)  Well after bumbling through some other things she said well I'm just trying to figure out which arm is the best to do your blood pressure.  I told her that while in the hospital they had been doing it on my leg, her response..Oh well I'm not good at leg pressures, I'll go get the automatic machine...REALLY!??! You're a nurse in an oncology unit and you aren't good at them? and you actually had the nerve to ADMIT it??  So needless to say by the time I answered all my medical history questions and we were left alone again Brian and I had MANY doubts.  It was 12 o'clock by the time that the doctor made his appearance.  He came in and said let me go over our pathology report, which my surgeon had already pretty much done at my appointment on Monday.  WE asked what the standard treatment protocol was.  We also asked several questions concerning pregnancy and odds if chemo were delayed, AND HE COULDN'T answer the questions we had!!  We tried to tell him we didn't have any more questions as Brian and I were fed up and ready to leave at this point, to which he then goes into a long rant of all the side effects I can expect with the chemo treatments...that was overwhelming in itself, there are MANY more side effects to worry about than just losing my hair and being sick.

Needless to say I was pretty upset by the time we walked out of the hospital, I cried pretty much the entire ride home.  I contacted my breast health nurse to ask her what we should to to go about finding another oncologist for a second opinion.  She gave us a recommendation of someone at the hospital I had my surgery at, but suggested I contact my surgeon's office and tell them what happened.  I talked to the nurse there and told her I needed some advice on how to go about finding someone new.  She said she was going to ask what the doc recommended and said she's call me back.  Much to my surprise MY DOCTOR was the one to return the call.  I told him about the appointment and how Brian and I were both less than thrilled with the doctor.  We talked about what options I had, and I asked him his thoughts about seeking a second opinion from the James at OSU.  He gave me the go ahead, and so I worked some contacts I had with the OSU system and have been given the names of 3 oncologists, as well as an additional recommendation on 1 of the names from a pathologist I know at OSU.  I will make some calls on Monday to see how soon I can get in to see at least 1 of them.

Brian and I spent a lot of time talking about the situation this weekend and we both agree that we need to talk to at least 1 more doctor before deciding what is going to be the best way to proceed.  Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming that the next oncologist makes a better impression and is more able to answer some of the important questions that we have.