anyone else dancing with NDED?

Thank you for the supportive reply, Tectonic. i probably will seek a second opinion, if i can figure out where to go for one. i live in new mexico, in the "four corners" region of the u.s.--my home is 5 miles south of colorado, 45 miles southeast of utah, and 45 miles east of arizona.

there's a university hospital in this state that i think is nci designated, about 2.5 hours from me, but i've "heard bad things" about it, so am reluctant to use them. maybe i should, though, at least for a second opinion.

i don't know. another option would be a hospital 40 miles away, in durango, colorado. i loved the hospital there when i was caring for my mother, who had terminal colon cancer; but i wasn't so happy with their oncs. (when my mother was about to die, the two mo's in the only office affiliated with that hospital got into a huge argument right in front of me about whether they had treated my mother's cancer aggressively enough).

i liked the idea of going to denver to see an oncologist (the doc i referred to in my original post), because my only offspring live in that area, and i could make it a family visit as well as a doc visit. plus, i'd "heard good things" about the university hospital there.

my husband has offspring in the phoenix area, and i also might consider going there, perhaps to mayo or to bennett, i think it's called, in a suburb of phoenix. the latter is a sort-of satellite of md anderson.

thank you, too, kathleen, for your reply. i actually did see an orthopedist (?) for my pain. he sent me to physical therapy, which greatly exacerbated the pain. he's presently on vacation, but i have an appointment on the 29th of this month for follow-up. prior to seeing the orthopedic doc, i'd spoken with my pcp about the pain (i adore her), and she ordered a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound; nothing unusual was detected on those images. maybe it's time to get back with my pcp and see what she can come up with.

i tell you--i get SO CONFUSED juggling docs! (my radiation onc finally dismissed me last week, so that's ONE down!).

thanks again to both of you for replying. good advice.

Fredntan--thank you for that suggestion. it won't work for me, but what a marvelous resource for those who can use it! i'd never heard of it!

update: my m.o. finally got back to me about my concerns, and all he said was he's confident that i don't have mets because my alkaline phosphatase level is low. and he'll be happy to talk with me about my other questions at my next appointment (which is in january). he didn't mention anything about what he thinks might be causing the pain i'm having in my back, pelvis, and groin.

so--i've read on these forums that tamoxifen can cause pelvic/groin pain. since it's debilitating to me, and i have a life to live, i'm going to stop tamoxifen to see if the pain goes away. i have a lot of other se's of tamox', as well, so i might just end up feeling pretty darned good despite a dismissive doc!

thanks for all replies.

Thank you for your reply, sbelizabeth.

i had tried AIs first, as i'm post-menopausal. on both anastrozole and letrozole, i had bloody vaginal discharge, which i hadn't had since my hysterectomy in 1977. also excruciating (attempts at) intercourse. that's why i was put on tamoxifen.

i just feel like a cripple nowadays, and i can't live like that. i have always been very active and productive; i can't do anything these days. i don't know which, if any, of my problems are from the tamoxifen, but it's the only element in my life that is relatively new (6 months) and preceded my physical "disability". i was very reluctant to take tamox' in the first place; i hate drugs (as some people on these boards have said, "i don't want to take anything that will give me a new disease").

i do plan to get a second opinion after i see what effect/s discontinuing tamoxifen has on my body and mind. and i'm still considering just getting a new doc. i just don't know if any other onc would do anything differently from this guy i have now.

thank you again for your input.