Changing dr in the middle of radiation

SparkleTBD
SparkleTBD Member Posts: 20
edited May 2021 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hello!

Has anyone ever changed dr in the middle of radiation therapy? Ive been not super happy with my RO, but decided to soldier on and get through it.

I have had 8 sessions and was skipped for an weekly check with him so now I have to wait until next week. I just get the impression that they don't really care and I am not high on the priority list which is making me pretty anxious. Im already on medication for anxiety and it is really making me struggle.

Has anyone tried switching to another one midstream? Is it even possible?

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Comments

  • ctmbsikia
    ctmbsikia Member Posts: 1,095
    edited May 2021

    If you did change to another center, they will have to re-map you. It is just my feeling that many (not all) places are just too packed full of people for treatments for all kinds of cancer unless you are at one just doing breast? My radiation experience did make me feel like a number, get in line, not much communication, I just stuck it out. After 1 follow up with the RO I never went back. I know it's horrible to you, but really skipping a weekly check after just 8 sessions is OK. It would be worse if they did that towards the end when you most definitely need to be seen and followed up with. Good luck to you.

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  • flashlight
    flashlight Member Posts: 698
    edited May 2021

    Hi, I didn't do this, but during treatment my RO made me aware I would be seeing a NP because he wouldn't be there the following week. You didn't see anyone else or ask to see someone? My sister changed MO's after her 2nd meeting and it went well. Do you have confidence in your treatment plan? How many more radiation treatments do you have? Can you talk to your cancer nurse navigator?

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  • Harley07
    Harley07 Member Posts: 164
    edited May 2021

    I think it depends on how many treatments you have left and how quickly you could get in with another doctor or cancer center. I believe consistency of treatments is very important for effectiveness. Any interruption in treatment could decrease effectiveness


    I definitely understand how you feel. I couldn’t tell you what my RO looked like as I never met her. I had a 15 minute phone call prior to start of treatment in which she was very rude and criticized my BS. At the mapping she came into the room after I was in the CT machine and couldn’t see her. There was no discussion of the treatment plan. I only had 5 APBI and then another RO met with me to review. He was also pretty dismissive and rude. I never went back for any follow up with the RO. I did talk with apatient advocate and the practice manager to express my unhappiness with how was I treated but nothing changed


    Is there a patient advocate you could talk to that might be able to help?

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  • ctmbsikia
    ctmbsikia Member Posts: 1,095
    edited May 2021

    Harley that's awful. I remember worrying it was taking too long from surgery to radiation. A complete fiasco, but I will say the RO, nurse and the techs did treat me respectfully. My 1st mapping failed so they had to start all over and I changed got treated in the prone position. I got my 1st treatment at 9:00 at night. I remember following the RO out of the hospital, he had probably put in a 15 hr. day.

    Afterwards, I did sign up for a patient program of some sort. It was to answer any questions future patients had coming in from another patients perspective. No one ever called. I was going to warn them to be prepared to wait, and wait yet somehow try to assure them they would be getting good care. Only one machine and a whole lotta folks needing it.

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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited May 2021

    I don't know about switching but I remember similar thoughts back when I did radiation. My RO would stop and chit chat briefly with me in the hallway and then try to call that my skin check! Even billed insurance for it. I had to put my foot down and demand to be seen in private in an exam room. One time (when I had a question) she came to see me on the machine when they had my head turned a certain way so I couldn't see her. Not the easiest way to have a conversation. Unfortunately I think that was kind of the point....

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  • SparkleTBD
    SparkleTBD Member Posts: 20
    edited May 2021

    So it looks like my whole radiation schedule does not line up to when my RO is in the office. I think if I had not said anything I wouldn't have seen an RO the entire time.

    At the time they did give me an option to see another MD so I said I would wait on another MD... but then a nurse came out in the middle of the waiting room where I was sitting with others and demanded to know my questions so she could see if I "needed" to see an MD. I was so flustered I just asked something and left. It was so embarrassing to be quizzed like that in front of all the other patients. Plus there was no opportunity for any skin check in the middle of the waiting room.

    Then after I gained some more courage, I called back and said I was cancelling my appointments until an MD could see me. So after much hemming and hawing someone is supposed to see me today.

    I just don't feel good about it because if I can't trust you with a small detail like making a schedule that aligns to when the RO is in the office... how can I trust that anything was done correctly?

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  • ctmbsikia
    ctmbsikia Member Posts: 1,095
    edited May 2021

    That sounds odd to me that an RO or MD is not available or in the facility during the times patients are being treated? Not right at all.

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  • flashlight
    flashlight Member Posts: 698
    edited May 2021

    SparkleTBD, That was a HIPAA violation to be questioned like that in front of others. Are you in a small town? The best thing they could have done was ask you if a nurse practitioner could answer your questions or do a skin check. My team was always very helpful, kind, and did their own scheduling. If you only have a few more treatments, I would finish, then never go back again. Do you have confidence in your Medical oncologist? If you haven't decided on one this is the time to check them out.

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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited May 2021

    oh that's terrible to do that in the waiting room, and you're definitely supposed to be doing skin checks.

    I hate when they skirt around privacy stuff. I saw a colorectal surgeon once for follow up after colonoscopy and he thought it was appropriate to leave the exam room door open. Granted we were just talking, but who wants to be questioned about their bowel movements with a open exam room door?

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  • SparkleTBD
    SparkleTBD Member Posts: 20
    edited May 2021

    Thanks for the responses everyone! A happy ending to the story. Im in a rural area and the doctors rotate around to different sites. When I showed my RO the schedule and how it didn't line up with his office time he said he was going to try and make it work each week.

    So I guess that is good news. :) Lesson learned: Speak up if you don't like how your radiation is going.

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