Do I need a new MO? Incidental lytic lesion in ED.

toomuch

Hi.

I could really use your input here. I developed acute abdominal pain after an insignificant fall on October 24th. Pain was so severe on October 25th that I went to the ER. I had a large liver bleed and was admitted to the ICU. After 2 days, I was transferred to a larger hospital's ICU and I asked for all my scans and reports. When I read the report from my 1st CT there was a comment about a 1.5 lytic lesion with surrounding sclerosis in the head of my femur. I was too sick to worry about it then. But on October 30th I sent my MO an e-mail asking if any workup should be done. He responded after a week that I should forward the CD to him which I did express mail so I know when it was signed for. Its been 12 days since they were received and after 2 phone messages and 3 e-mails, I still have not heard back from him. Am I being unreasonable in my time frame for hearing back or do I need a new, more responsive oncologist?

You can tell I'm torn, so I really appreciate your opinions.

Toomuch

Peacetoallcuzweneedit

Amy - I am sorry you are going through this....Amy I think the fact that you are questioning this probably is seriously the answer you need to listen to....the timeline you provided is reasonable to expect some kind of an answer. Has this MO been responsive previously and this is out of the ordinary, because it may be he/she had time off or a staffing change, etc...

However - 12 days like I said is not unreasonable to expect an answer of some kind. You might want to call (and you may have, but sometimes messages are just "name and number" requesting call back) and calmly express concerns about the time and, plus you need to get that film/disc back...

toomuch

I've had a relationship with my MO since 1989 when he was still practicing hematology and oncology. I've been fortunate that since my diagnosis, I have never had to see or talk to him between appointments. I don't know if this is out of character. I did ask the last 2 times I called if he was in the office and they said yes. I left detailed messages and the nurses know why I'm calling now without me saying. I sent him another 3rd email in 12 days today asking him if he was ill and telling him I was concerned because that could be the only acceptable reason why he hadn't responded to me. Low and behold, I just got a response. He reviewed my scan with the bone radiologist and since there is only 1 lesion they don't think that it represents a met. Hah. How many women have you seen post on these boards with oligometastatic disease? He said that if I want to discuss further workup with him, we can discuss it. The CT report said that if there was no previous imaging to compare to for stability a bone scan should be considered to evaluate for an active lesion. I've never had any radiographic tests other then breast MRI and I want a bone scan. I'm 7 years out and my fear has been heightened this year for some reason.

Does anyone know of a good reason to not get a bone scan?

MARIONSGIRL

Amy, I don't think you are being unreasonable. Is there anyway you can find out if the MO is on vacation or away from the office?

Peacetoallcuzweneedit

I would say - get the scan....follow your gut, intuition...hopefully others will chime in if there are negatives regarding the scan...

KBeee

Trust your gut and request a scan. Sorry you had to wait so long. You are way more patient than I would have been!

Keep us posted. I hope you have recovered from your fall

toomuch

Thanks for your responses. I tried to see a MO that I saw for an opinion when I was diagnosed in 2010. She reviewed the CT and recommended a bone scan but felt that my current MO should be the one to order it. I have an appointment with him on Tuesday to discuss what additional testing should be done. He feels confident that it is not a met but I've had such a stressful month, I've never had any screening tests and at this point I feel like a definitive test should be done. I'll let you know the outcome of my visit.

Again, many thanks!