Deciding on an oncologist in DC area

Hi Asmont-

Welcome to the community! We're so very sorry you find yourself here, but we hope you find these boards to be a source of support and information as you continue down this road. You might want to check out or post in our Recommend Your Resources forum, lots of members share doctor experiences there, and someone might be able to chime in on your choices: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/26

The Mods

Asmont, how we each weigh what we value in our team seems to be a highly personalized process, so I can't help there. What I will say is that you should remember that you'll be working with your MO for a long time (years) as he/she will be the one to continue prescribing hormonal treatment for you. So anyone that you don't want to continue seeing for the foreseeable future, or who you don't feel like you'd be comfortable calling (at some point in the future) if you become worried about something (it happens to quite a few of us) that's NOT the MO for you. He/she is the person you'll work the closest with over the longest period of time. Hope that helps you in your decision making. Good luck!

Something to consider, which is often overlooked when in the throes of deciding on treatment, is how often you will be seen and how you will be followed post-treatment. Many patients express dissatisfaction with their surveillance after chemo, so determining in advance whether your oncologist will routinely scan or do tumor markers or other blood work at intervals becomes important. Also, trying to get a sense of accessibility of oncologist and staff in the event of chemo or hormonal therapy side effect assistance is important, and may tip the scale toward one or the other.

I did a clinical trial at Sibley and found the facility and personnel to be very nice and things were well organized - easy to park if you drive, or if you access by metro they have a hospital shuttle that arrives outside the Tenleytown station, or the M4 bus from the same spot and they go right to the hospital. I lived in NOVA for ten years so was familiar with the area, but because I flew in for this trial sometimes I rented a car, sometimes I didn't depending on where I was staying

I am hoping folks are still around on this thread. I just left my oncologist at George Washington University MFA because the cancer center doesn't have nurse practitioners, and that meant I couldn't get answers when I started having reactions to my treatment.

I moved to Dr. Denduluri at Virginia Cancer Specialist. She is clearly very good at what she does but I am feeling like my desires aren't being listened to. I had a reaction to my first treatment with Herceptin/Perjeta (I became nauseous and got the chills) and was given steroids, which I hate. I made an appt with the doctor after to talk about what happens next based on the reaction. Was hoping could do the slow the infusion down and given anti nausea meds before. Doctor immediately went for the steroids again and when I said I'd prefer to try other things first, she simply talked through what I was saying. Oy. She did agree to cut the dose on steroid. I feel so strongly about the need to be heard that I emailed her, asking if we could at least wait until I start a reaction before giving the treatment. Nope. She's insisting on the steroids.

I know this might sound like a small detail, but I was so frustrated that now I'm a bit panicky about continuing to work with this doctor. Anyone else had experience with Dr. Denduluri on this type of thing? She is clearly very skilled and was recommended by my first oncologist, along with Dr. Karen Smith at Sibley. Trying to figure out what to do next. I have metastatic breast cancer and have had the very good luck of responding well to treatment - I'm knocking on wood that this is what will happen with Herceptin/Perjeta. For me an oncologist is a longer relationship than just a few months. Any feedback?

Did you all find an oncologist that you're happy with? I'm disappointed by the lack of communication with my doctor and thinking about switching. The only time I can speak to my doctor is by appointment. She will not answer questions over the phone. I can only speak to one her nurses if I have followup questions after my appointment. Is that normal with all oncologists?

I can understand that oncologists are busy, but I think at the very minimum, they should be available to do a follow up call after your initial diagnosis. It's a lot of information to take in and it should be expected that a newly diagnosed patient will have a lot of follow up questions. And unfortunately I feel like I received a lot of conflicting information from the nurses.

I also doubt whether I'm getting the best treatment. I know my doctor is smart, but my gut tells me that she is always too busy and is not proactive about future plans/giving advice. For example, I started researching online if cancer patients should get a flu shot and read that a flu/pneumonia shot is highly recommended for cancer patients because complications from the flu are more serious even deadly for us. Shouldn't my oncologist have told me this, instead of me discovering it myself?

I also see that breast cancer patients on this site commonly talk about things that my doctor has never discussed with me. Such as tumor markers, hormone testing, bone density testing, how many lymph nodes are positive. When I ask her about these things she usually says those tests are not reliable. But again I get contradicting information later on. When I was first diagnosed, I asked whether I should take hormone testing to make sure I was menopausal before taking a letrozole. She told me it was not a reliable test. But 3 months later her office orders the test for me. If not reliable why was this test done at all?

It's all these things that make me doubt whether I'm getting the best treatment. Of all the doctors we could go to in our lifetime, we should have the best relationship with the doctor who is working on saving our life.

If you have a doctor you're happy with, please let me know. I'm from NOVA as well. Thank you.

Star: Do you mind sharing the name of your medical oncologist? Do you feel like she or he listens to you when you express your wishes about treatment? I really appreciate it.

Susan

ok. At this point I think I may have to move. The doctor has her own rigidity but it's turning out the system as a whole is rigid. Today I asked to be given the 250 ml of Iv saline solution that was already hung and was told no, doctor had to order that. I pushed and finally was given saline (extra hydration helps me with side effects). I'm tired of having push to be heard or for simple things so time to explore other options. Does Georgetown have whacky rules like this?