need new oncologist

3-16-2011

Hi all and any

 I have been through 8 months of active treatment. Then returned to work for 10 months and now off again recovering from tram flap reconstruction. But now I have to deal with finding a new oncologist for follow up as my oncologist is leaving the practice. I am not so happy with other onc. in the practice and feeling overwhelmed with having to find someone to trust again. Any wisdom or advice would be appreciated.

thanks

Moderators

Hi 3-16-2011,

While the title of the page is deceiving, there's some good information at the bottom of the page from the main Breastcancer.org site called Deciding Where to Go for a Second Opinion, specifically, the tips at the bottom of the page give some good ideas on how to find a new oncologist!

Hope this helps!

--The Mods

NatsFan

I changed oncs a few years ago because I wasn't happy with the level of follow up care I was getting after active treatment was done.  To find a new onc, I called my PCP, my gyn, my rad onc, and canvassed friends, neighbors, and co-workers who'd had cancer or had a close family member who'd had cancer.  I ended up with a list of half a dozen local oncs.  To start, I made a new patient consult appointment with the onc whose patients seemed the most enthusiastic about her.  As it turned out I loved her and have been going to her since.  But if I hadn't liked her or even been unsure, I'd have made new patient consult appointments witih others on the list until I found a match.

You're trusting your onc with your life, so you have to have someone that's a good partner for you.  It's no fun having to start over with someone else, but in my case, it's the best thing I ever did to find a new onc.

Good luck!

3-16-2011

Hi Nats fan

thanks for the advice. good input and now I have a list to start with. thanks