Who is main Dr that gets updates from all others after surgery?
I had lumpectomy at one hospital but will be seeing RO and MO for meds and radiation at a hospital closer to home in the next 2 weeks. Is there a doctor in charge that oversees all that is going on with me? Someone that will get feedback from all these doctors I'm seeing? Who is that doctor? The breast surgeon, my gynecologist, my medical doctor? I just want to make sure they all know what's going on and talking with each other.
Comments
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I've been wondering about that myself. Regardless of whether or not you can get a really good answer to that, you should be making a collection of all of your official records for yourself. They should be easy to get from the medical records office, especially if you make the request in person and pick them up in person to save time. Sometimes there is a fee per page. If you are seeing a private independent doctor, his/her office should make copies for you. The most important thing you can do for yourself is to read the records thoroughly. I found two mistakes in mine. One reported my cancer as being in the left breast when it was actually in the right. Another instance was when I had a thyroidectomy. When the radiologist who did the mapping prior to surgery made her report, she wrote that one of my parathyroids "had been previously diagnosed as having cancer." So not true! At the risk of being labeled as "difficult" I pointed these discrepancies out to surgeons and medical records. So be it. Ever hear one of those stories where the wrong limb gets amputated? It happens. You have to be careful though, and almost appologetic when reporting your findings because you don't want to upset the person who will be cutting into you. Don't even expect an apology or a thanks for pointing anything out because that would be feared as an admission iof guilt. Geez... I try to tell myself that, by the time you get to surgery, the surgeon has seen so many scans and reports that one "left" among several "rights" will not skew the results...but, hey! Do I sound paranoid? Yup. But really, people make mistakes. So do we all. Just hope you can avoid the biggest ones.
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This is a good question. Hopefully someone with more experience will comment. I struggle with who to call for what issue right now.
My insurance requires referrals for specialists. So I think she is being updated throughout this process, but at this point isn't calling the shots. I believe that my breast specialist then created the referral to the radiation oncologist, and the radiation oncologist passes progress notes to her? I know ultimately I will have to follow up with both of them every 6 months for 5 years - so they better be talking to each other. I'm also trying to keep copies of everything that I take with me to appointments just in case. I definitely don't want anything falling through the cracks.
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Ehhh...my surgeon sort of spearheaded my care but really the MO drove the bus for awhile after surgery. RO doing her thing separately. Now I alternate seeing MO and surgeon, with RO followups stuck in between. Surgeon decides on imaging, MO monitors tamoxifen, and they do a breast exam whenever I come in. Seems to be working ok. I don't know how much they communicate about my care though. No PCP involvement but I don't trust them anyway so it's ok.
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My surgeon collects all the info and passes it along to the necessary docs as well as my family doc.
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I have always been asked who I want reports sent to. I always list all my Drs that I want to have the info regarding what is pertinent to them and the care they give me.
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It seems to differ depending on who your doctor is. For me, My BSO runs the show, but I see him and my MO every three months for the next 2 years. They seem to work very closely together. I will see the RO one more time and then he said if all seems ok, he will release me.
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It seems like my MO is the most involved. I'm not sure if he gets all of the reports or not. I try to list all of my doctors, but that's not always possible. I don't think that any of them actually "talk" about me. Information sharing is probably the extent of it since they are at different facilities.
MO - seen every six weeks, blood work, meds
BS - seen every six months, CBE, imaging if needed
PS - seen ? (as needed, I guess), passes on any concerns
PCP - seen if needed
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Ellyn,
Your cancer care team (surgeon, rad onc and med onc) should all get reports on everything, even if they are at different places as mine were, and also your primary care physician and gynecologist. Check the lab or imaging order your doctors write to see whom they are cc'ing, and then tell the hospital, lab, or imaging facility when you register to send copies to the omitted others. TG
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I went to my MO for the first time yesterday and asked this question. She pretty much said she'll be overseeing everything. Mainly, because the BS goes away after a bit and so does the RO. She made it sound like she and I would be becoming new best friends and seeing each other often for the next 5 years. I found out I'll be getting some type of aromatase inhibitor (since I'm post menopausal) but won't start until after radiation. Next week I have my first mtg with the RO. Moving along, just too slowly!!!
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When I met her, my MO said, "I'll be in your life forever."
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ksusan - Forever? I figure I'll see the MO once in a while during the 5 years of meds. What do you need them for after that?
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