Physician Assistant Horrible Experience!!
Today I had to go in to see my Onc's Physician Assistant because he wasn't available and I needed to know if this strange pain in my right upper arm area could be a form of Lymphedema. She checked me and said it had nothing to do with Lymphedema since it always makes your fingers tingle and my fingers were ok. (Where she got that from, I don't know!). She then checked by my right breast area and said I had to have an ultrasound "today" since she felt a "lump". I told her I had just been checked by my Onc 3 weeks ago and how come he didn't feel that lump. She said they just can pop up so fast! I wanted to wait until tomorrow to have the ultrasound but she insisted it had to be done "today"! She even wrote on the orders for the ultrasound to do TWO and do them ASAP! "NOW!" When I read that I started to panic thinking the bc had spread. I was soooo scared!
The Ultrasound lady at the hospital made sure to tell me she had to do two seperate ultrasounds so it would take longer. I told her just to find what that "lump" was. Well after what seemed like hours she finished after doing one ultrasound from my wrist to my shoulder and the second all around the breast area from the bc. She spent about half an hour with the radiologist then he came to me and said "You can go home. You are fine. Nothing wrong with you." I grabbed him and told him I needed to know WHAT was that lump the PA was so concerned about. He said with a smile on his face "Just a fatty necrosis. Nothing to worry about". I was relieved but furious that the PA idiot from Hell did not know the difference between a lump of FAT and a lump which could be serious!
When I got home I called my Onc's office and reported her to the office manager. I told her if my Onc could not see me himself in the future, I would just walk out of the office. He needed to know I would never allow his Physician Assistant to examine me! I also told her the woman needed to get more education and learn how to tell the difference between a lump of fat and a harder lump which "could" be serious. She said she would give my info to my doctor.
Sooooo what I would like to know is did I overreact. Ok, so I know I overreact to everything especially since Arimidex but HE is the one insisting I stay on it! But I respect your opinions no matter what he thinks, can a doctor or even a lowly Physician Assistant tell the difference between lumps they are feeling? Don't fat lumps feel different than bc lumps?? I think she should just have ultrasounded the area where the "lump" was first but to charge me and my insurance for two seperate ultrasounds to save her butt is going beyond the call of duty, IMO!
No matter if I am wrong about what she did to me today, I am still NOT allowing those PAs to touch me again! DP was even panicky over how long the ultrasounds took! Thanks for any advice or info you can share!
Comments
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Not crazy about the PA at my former surgeon's office either, but honestly, I don't think they can tell just by feel whether it is a "serious" lump or fatty necrosis. I've known too many that have actually had biopsies on "suspicious" lumps, just to find out it was fat necrosis. I get new lumps fairly frequently, and now assume that most of them are scar tissue from the rads, but I don't think anyone can be sure unless they do diagnostics, and even then they may not be sure, subsequently the biopsies that have determined fat necrosis. I am sorry that you were frightened. She may have thought she was doing the right thing erring on the side of being overly cautious because you are a bc. survivor. I think you do have the right to insist on only being seen by the onc if that is what you are comfortable with. Hope the remainder of your day is better.
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I found a lump about a month ago that felt just like my original cancer. Went to my BS, who had me go for mammo/US and biopsy, and it turned out to be fat necrosis. There's no way to tell without the additional testing. I'm sorry you had that scare - it is terrifying when you think it may have returned!! But I agree, it is your prerogative to decide whether you want to be seen by the onc only and not the PA. I made that decision at another doc's office, and the doc was totally cool with that.
Peace,
Shelby
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Thanks for the input ladies. With the help of some strawberry cheesecake and your kind replies, I "will" survive! I am glad to find out that you, too, had experiences with fatty lumps and they can be confused. I just wondered why my Onc didn't say anything about it 3 weeks ago. But then again he said something which I found worse than even my experience with the PA. Remember I told you he once thought the tube from my Cerebral Aneurysm's VP Shunt was a lump?? Well now I remind him about it and my last exam he replied "Yes, I know you still have that VP Shunt! When are you having it removed?? Can you believe that! He thought it was removable! My DP told him they would have to cut open my head again to get to it and it was "not" supposed to ever be removed. Sometimes I wonder what he puts in his drinking water. The Onc not my DP!
Thanks again for relieving my confusion about the fatty lump. Now to some cheesecake!
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Sherri: I LOVE chocolate even more than cheesecake!! Eat some for me! My Onc is going to be furious with me for calling his Office Mgr. today and making my complain to her. I may be looking for a new ONC if I don't learn to control my emotions. Oh well. He should have come in to check me for just one minute and saved me from hours of misery and all that money for the ULs. Have a good night!
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My surgeon from Sloan-Kettering initially thought that I had fibrocystic breasts when he examined my breast. We're not talking about a newbie doc , I'm talking about a guy whose spent his whole life as a BS. Anyway, biopsy on the same day showed IDC. I'm sorry the PA frightened you but the PA actually might have been very good because she felt something where otherwise no one did and she ordered you the testing right away and now you know its just fatty necrosis and nothing suspicious.
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