← Return to Anxiety and depression: waiting for scan results

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@gingerw

@azkidney57 Were you given names for your care team? Do you have a patient advocate? If you are signed up for their patient portal, send a message to your doctor. They may be having a second or third set of eyes review everything. If you live close by, go in and ask what is going on, and don't leave until you're satisfied. Talk to the administration people, expressing your concerns, and tell them, "what about patients who don't have the energy or resources I have to question, but still suffer the same failure to communicate?" Unfortunately, more and more we need to aggressively advocate for ourselves. I'm glad you shared here.
Ginger

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Replies to "@azkidney57 Were you given names for your care team? Do you have a patient advocate? If..."

Thanks for responding Ginger. I finally did get the results of my MRI and CT scan. I am cancer free at present. But I did not receive the results from my cancer center, my “cancer team” as I had anticipated. I had to get the results on my own. In the future I will be more aggressive regarding my results. The cancer center had my results all along. I feel my cancer center has failed me. So, I have an appointment to see my oncologist and I will tell him in person how disappointed I am! I will also find an ombudsman for that cancer center. I will file a complaint because I have had issues with “communication “ or rather lack of with this center all along! There is a nurse navigator who has been responsive to my issues. She has consistently helped me but she is not part of my “care team”. My PCP office supplied the results of my MRI. I got the results of my Chest CT myself. The cancer center made plenty of excuses and each time I called I was told different things. I was told the doctor is busy, the nurse is busy, the clinic is busy, “we will relay the message”. Yet I waited and no call. I did finally receive a call but by then I had the results already! I have learned that patients with localized disease on surveillance often encounter issues regarding timely response times. I am also 5 months into this cancer experience so I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know what I don’t know! There was no clear education on their part regarding how to wait for results. I am learning as I go. I am under a great deal of stress. The cancer center added to that stress and I am not pleased! I am dealing with a potentially deadly outcome so for me the stakes are quite high. The cancer center will hear of my disappointment. Hopefully it will not be repeated! Hopefully other cancer patients won’t have to worry about getting their results in a timely fashion. We have enough to worry about!