Why keep seeing the RO?

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lalere
lalere Member Posts: 16
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I had my follow up appt with my RO yesterday and made an appt for 6 months to see her again.   I guess I don't understand why I need to continue following up with her when I am seeing my oncologist every 3 months.  She doesn't do blood work and all she does is repeat the questions he already asks me.  My radiation treatments ended the first of May.  I really feel it's a money thing.  How often do you all see your RO now that your treatment is over?

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  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited June 2012
    After my follow-up I was also asked to come back in 6 months. I thought it was odd since I did extremely well on rads and am having no problems. I guess they want to be super vigilant with cancer patients. Undecided Or, its a money thing.
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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited June 2012

    When I finished rads my RO said MO would do all followups, so I haven't been back.

    Leah

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  • MrsMom2
    MrsMom2 Member Posts: 13
    edited June 2012

    Sounds like they were putting the final touches on their research paper, and needed to know the answers from the 'patient'

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  • reesie
    reesie Member Posts: 2,078
    edited June 2012

    Rads can keep "working" for, I believe, up to a year. I guess your RO is just checking for latent SEs, etc.



    That being said, a good MO should be able to do the same. Each time I finished rads my RO released me after my one month follow up understanding I was still seeing many other docs.



    I was just to call if I had problems.

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  • fragrantroses
    fragrantroses Member Posts: 117
    edited June 2012

    I saw mine 6 months after radiation and then a year visit was scheduled.  In my case, the skin dissolved during radiation and my rad tx had to be altered the last 2 weeks - to bolus to give the skin cells a little time to rejuvenate.  I was a soupy, oozy, drippy mess and by far the hardest experience of all the breast cancer treatment.

    When I saw the RO, his focus was on the skin and the scar line.  He slimmed all over the TE with his fingers feeling for lumps or skin issues.  But while skin was a mess, it also has awesome healing powers.  He was surprised it had healed up relatively scar free compared to what he expected to see.  I have one silver dollar size patch of skin that is immobile and stuck to the muscle.  The rest is good.  My PS said that I was not even in the top 10% of worse rad scarring.  

     But that's why the RO wanted to see me.  After this year check up in August...I don't have any follow ups unless I develop a skin issue.  He said because it is radiated tissue, I'm to call him if I developed any blisters, sores, dry patches ...basically anything at all. 

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  • Cindyl
    Cindyl Member Posts: 1,194
    edited June 2012

    My RO tells me that in their practice the RO's do the long term follow up on patients that had rads, but didn't do chemo.  The MOs in the practice do follow ups on the chemo girls.  Those of us on Tamoxifen or AI's get to see both, but in my case the RO will be primary.

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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited June 2012

    I saw my MO 1 month after finishing RADs for the last time. I didn't do chemo & feel my MO does very little for me other than write my Tamox Rx. My PCP handles ordering my blood work & she asks me what labs I want done(I guess this can work to my favor)

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