Difficulty seeing/communicating with oncologist

@dpat212: If I were you I would explore Oncologists that may be available to you - maybe your primary doc would refer you? You deserve and need special treatment and confidence in your cancer health team. If you have disc or written reports of your tests & hopefully biopsy diagnosis report, you will be able to get consult with an Oncologist. Perhaps your best option might be to make contact with all the cancer medical facilities - perhaps with University Cancer Specialists? You decide best.

THIS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY, & getting an appointment within a week is an OUTSTANDING response.

Prostate cancer is VERY slow growing. After discussing the options with his oncologist, you & he may want to learn & study ALL his options before rushing into the first one that is available.

As far as test results, my oncologist waits until our next 12-week appointment to discuss them, because it is NOT URGENT. Of course I can view them on the portal, but there is no urgency.

In the one case recently, where there WAS some urgency, I got a call within six hours. My oncologist noticed that my pulse was very low (36) at the pre-visit screening, & ordered an EKG for the next day. I hadn't left the hospital grounds after the EKG when he had seen the results & called to take me off my medications temporarily (he had ALREADY ordered an echocardiogram & a heart monitor).

This is all normal medical practice. I give this as an example of when test results & visits are urgent AND WHEN THEY ARE NOT.

I always have appointment scheduled about a week after my scan ahead of time., I have bloodwork prior to Dr appointment. I think it is time for my team to discuss best treatment prior to my appointment.

@kevinmonroemi

I do likewise. I have an extensive blood draw (PSA, testosterone, comprehensive metabolic panel, & complete blood count) every four weeks. I schedule them so that my 12-week oncologist visit is the week after the blood draw, allowing for ample time for the results (the PSA is sent to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN & they are historically slow in reporting results to my hospital) to arrive & be examined.

I'm a Mayo Rochester cancer patient and No, this is not my experience. My doctors have always been very responsive and great communicators before my cancers, during, and since. I will say I think your Dad and you deserve better.

@readandlearn I think your comments are useful to provide some balance and insight before switching oncologist

I know how busy my oncologist unfortunately is as there are so many of us. I do sometimes speak with his nurse practitioner if I need anything. A few months ago I was getting light headed and having headaches for no apparent reason and in addition to a suite of blood tests I don’t normally get my oncologist ordered a CT scan immediately to ensure there was nothing going on there as my periodic scans don’t include my head.

I wouldn’t change my oncologist lightly but I would if truly needed

@kevinmonroemi This is also how my oncologist and I do things. My cancer is aggressive and fast growing and I have been NED for 4 years. My bloods and scans have gradually increased to 6 monthly and we book the appointment when I leave from the appointment and they send the referral to the scan place who call me to organise the scans for a week before. It has worked well.

I personally choose not to read my scans and wait to see my oncologist so he can interpret them for me (as I misread them once and totally freaked out, unnecessarily)

I work on the insurance and normally before any new procedure or treatment is started, you need a pre-auth. No provider is going to rush into a treatment without first consulting with the patient, sharing options, then getting a pre-auth and starting treatment. Otherwise if treatment is started and pre-auth is denied for whatever reason, your provider will stop the treatment or suggest a different treatment.

You’re very lucky you only have to wait a week! That is really fast, some of us have to wait weeks to months!

My first oncologist was good at my visits, otherwise I never spoke to her on the phone. I was contacted by the same nurse within a few hours. After starting calquene my follow up visits were scheduled with associate doctors and back to the primary oncologist combined with lab visits. A few days into the 2nd month of Calquence severe burning feet and hands. My call reporting the side effects was returned within a few hours by the same knowledgeable and thorough nurse assistant. 1st 3 days of Zanubrutinib the same side effects my call to the office was returned within a few a few hours by the nurse assistant.
I had 1 morning appointment when the office opened and waiting in line I counted 16 patients. That day I learned the oncologist is very busy.
My first visit to Oncologist 2 was the appointments for my scan,labs and visit back to the oncologist was communicated within a few hours with detailed instructions including my next appointment with oncologist’s staff by text.