What is meant by "My team?"

Posted by thoffman6709 @thoffman6709, Feb 27 12:48pm

I often hear the phrase "my team" or "your team" used in reference to cancer care. " Make sure you have a good team." When I hear phrases like that. I imagine a bunch of doctors sitting around a table discussing my care.
Brief History: Original diagnosis (11/21) CT2a, Then SBRT to the prostate. Then three years later, three Mets discovered 6/24). Then metastatic directed radiation. When the Mets were discovered, I started on Lupron and Zytiga. PSA undetectable now for 6 months.

Since 2021, I've seen a urologist perform the biopsy, then radiologist do do the radiation and then an oncologist to prescribe drugs. Does this constitute my "team?" As far as I know, the only connection between "my team" is each individually accessing my electronic records. I have no evidence that they have ever talked to each other about my care.

I submit that using phrases like "my team" is very misleading.
Probably better to say, "make sure you have good doctors."
What am I missing here?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

@charlotte12

@rrk25: what insurance covers the services of your team? can you share the name of the facility you used- why did you have a social worker, what was his/her job? I never get a doctor on the phone, it goes as far as the nurse, or reception- my communication with the team is on the patient portal- unless it's an outpatient appointment-

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I am on Medicare and United is secondary insurance. During this journey the mental aspect is something I was not prepared for, orgovyx messed with my head quite a bit and the social worker helped me out with that. I had the direct number to my pharmacist, urologist office nurses station, radiation dept desk and nurse, they actually answer the phone. My doctors all called me back within 20-30 minutes.

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Sticking with the subject of "Team...": This team of specialists will/should also meet with a Tumor Review Board, which is conducted when teams of expert physicians meet to review and discuss complex patients with a diagnosis of cancer. Multiple sets of eyes and experience are a good thing.

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