So now begins my negotiation to follow Dr. C's opinion. Contrary to what you would think, my local treating onc, is not open to a specialist's advice, she often says she has no idea who he is -- let me tell you he is the most famous doctor working with inflammatory breast cancer patients and recently got a 7 million grant from the Susan Komen fund for an IBC clinic -- it seems like a real ego reaction. Yes, can you frackin' believe it, dear readers???? Her ego, my health.
So I need to fight for this switch. I have to put my trust in Dr. C, he says he wants to manage my cancer like a chronic disease. Nobody ever says this to me. I look at his bio over and over and some of his writings. This guy is not a mad scientist as far as I can tell. But it's easy to be filled with doubt about who to trust. And harder than you would think for me advocate for my own treatment. I'm meeting my local, skeptical doc on thursday.
I have blood draw tomorrow and a heart test, to see if the chemo has damaged my hear, since I've put on so much weight. Fun stuff. Deep breath, exhale.
2 comments:
Hi Melissa,
I am glad your scans were good! Dr. C is the leading oncologist in the area of IBC. If you look at www.IBCsupport.org, women there worship him like he is a god. I think you can trust him.
The difficulty with metastatic disease is that there are no clear answers. It must be difficult to fight with your local onc when you try to follow Dr. C's plan.
Best,
Jill N.
You reminded me of a time when I was having a chronic health issue and my doctor was a total EGOmaniac. I stayed with him because he was well regarded in the local community and part of a prestigious practice, but in truth, he was a mediocre doctor and had little regard for my time and discomfort (on my last visit, he had me shivering in his exam room in those horrid paper gowns for literally an hour while he did lord knows what). I finally asked around and got a referral for another doctor in a less prestigious hospital who treated me like a human being and did a beautiful surgery and great follow-up on me. There's something to be said for enthusiastic referrals. And there's nothing like revealing one's big ego to erode my trust in a medical professional. And I say this as a medical professional...I definitely give credit when it's due, even when it's in consideration of clashing treatment philosophies.
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