Snuck a peek at report when doctor left room

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waterdog
waterdog Member Posts: 46
edited June 2014 in Just Diagnosed


I met with my surgeon who told me what I already knew about IDC and Grade II. My ER status is strongly positive but none of the other tests (Her, PR) came back yet. We talked about options such as, lumpectomy, sentinel, radiation (internal if no nodes). He left the room for a minute and of course a looked at my report. He failed to tell me there was a 1.8 cm lymph node that was highly suspicious for malignancy. So when he came back I asked him why he didn't talk to me about that. He said he was waiting for my MRI to come back. My MRI was done about an hour later. Glad that's done. I told him I needed him to be up front with me in the future - I really don't need sunshine blown up my butt at a time like this. P.S. Don't leave my reports lying around because I WILL look at it. So, depending on what comes back I will either have outpatient or overnight and coming out with a drain. Here is another dumb question. He kept talking about post-menopausal women and I don't really know if I am. My last period was in August but has been very sporadic in the past year. I asked him if we shouldn't verify what my status was before deciding on tamoxifen or an AI. He is waiting for the MRI report to come back early next week before scheduling the surgery. Here's to a great weekend of wondering!

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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2013


    waterdog, hormonal testing for menopause isn't totally accurate, the gold standard is no period for a year

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited November 2013


    waterdog - First and foremost, you should have copies of all your reports. Ask for them and keep a binder with your labs, imaging reports, pathology reports, etc. You will be surprised how many times you will refer to these reports, and need to reference them for insurance, etc. You should not have to sneak a peek at these reports, they concern you and your body, you are entitled to have copies. Do you have another appointment with your surgeon prior to your surgery? I recommend that you discuss the location of this suspicious lymph node, what the MRI shows - keep in mind that imaging studies are not definitive - only pathology is, and what the plan is to sample it. Is this an axillary node, or a intramammary node? As far as hormonal therapy - that should be handled by an oncologist, not your surgeon. Surgeons operate, radiologic oncologists radiate, and systemic therapy, such as chemo and hormonal therapy, are administered by a medical oncologist. Your menopausal status should indeed be determined prior to deciding what hormonal therapy to take, but if your last cycle was that recent I doubt that an aromatase inhibitor would be prescribed yet. Tamoxifen, at least in the short term, is probably more appropriate.

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  • iowagirl1
    iowagirl1 Member Posts: 130
    edited November 2013


    My cancer treatment center posts all lab and radiology reports online at their website. They also show the Dr.'s notes of office visits and date and time of upcoming appointments. It's usually within a day or so from the treatment. I find this good for me because I have trouble remembering things.

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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited November 2013


    waterdog...I was 9 months post menaposal...Last period was July 2004 and was Diagnosed April 2005


    They treated me with everything they could because until you reach 1 year after PM they are not really sure


    So for a 1.2cm tumor and being triple positive had DD chemo, radiation, 1 year of weekly Herceptin and 5 years of Femara


    Good luck to you


    Sheila

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  • iowagirl1
    iowagirl1 Member Posts: 130
    edited November 2013


    And P.S. I hate it when they describe me as a well-nourished female in their notes!

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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited November 2013


    LOL...iowagirl..

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  • iowagirl1
    iowagirl1 Member Posts: 130
    edited November 2013

    And the latest from my plastic surgeon's notes.......

    Patient has AMPLE  abdominal tissue for the diep procedure!

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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2013


    let me tell ya...I am, uh, AMPLE too, but three years ago they were writing in my chart that I had extremely poor nutritional status and was cachetic from being so ill. I'll take my fat butt over then any day. Well developed & well nourished is a good thing!

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited November 2013


    I second the motion of getting copies of all reports. You should have them and ask the doctor or a well informed bc nurse to go over them with you so that you understand everything.


    In my experience, and others' too, oncologists sometimes have a tendency to dripfeed information so as not to overload the patient.


    It is difficult sometimes for the doctor to judge how much information you are comfortable receiving at any one time, and how much you understand, therefore I do think that we, as patients, have the onus on us to research, ie seek out as well as passively receive information about our own condition and the often numerous treatment options. This site is a good resource of course! Make lists of everything that occurs to you between appointments, and make sure all your questions are answered.


    Many people are advised to take somebody else to the consults to listen and take notes, and I have also heard of people recording the appointment. I thought I was being reasonably clear-headed at my appointments, but there have been times when my husband has corrected me in what I believed I had heard, or stuff that just passes over the head while you are digesting earlier information!


    Good luck with your treatments! xxx

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