Kathy1990 Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 How do I investigate an oncologist. I have lung cancer and the doctor wants me to have surgery. Can you give me a site with patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Hi, Kathy, and welcome. I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Are you looking to find an oncologist? Or are you wanting to research the one that you have? We can't give recommendations for specific doctors, but if you go to this link, you'll see some of the pertinent questions you might want to ask the doctor. https://lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/asking-right-questions/questions-to-ask-your-healthcare-professionals And most of us here are patients/survivors. If you want to tell us a bit more about what kind of information you've got regarding the suspected lung cancer, we'll be happy to respond and answer questions as best we can. We aren't medical experts, but a lot of us have been dealing with this for a while and we've acquired quite a bit of knowledge/experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy1990 Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Kathy1990 said: How do I investigate an oncologist. I have lung cancer and the doctor wants me to have surgery. Can you give me a site with patients. I want to investigate the oncologist that the hospital gave me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I'd start by googling--most oncologists have a bio online that says where they went to school and trained, any board certifications they may have, etc. That, and I'd ask questions to satisfy myself s/he is knowledgeable and experienced in the relevant treatments, etc. If they are talking surgery, you are probably early stage. Have you had a biopsy? Some nodules are too small to biopsy safely. I had surgery and the tumor was examined during the surgery. Have you had additional testing, such as a PET-CT scan to determine whether the cancer has spread? Is there something specific that concerns you, or do you just want to confirm that the oncologist is well-qualified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy1990 Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 3 hours ago, LexieCat said: I'd start by googling--most oncologists have a bio online that says where they went to school and trained, any board certifications they may have, etc. That, and I'd ask questions to satisfy myself s/he is knowledgeable and experienced in the relevant treatments, etc. If they are talking surgery, you are probably early stage. Have you had a biopsy? Some nodules are too small to biopsy safely. I had surgery and the tumor was examined during the surgery. Have you had additional testing, such as a PET-CT scan to determine whether the cancer has spread? Is there something specific that concerns you, or do you just want to confirm that the oncologist is well-qualified? 3 hours ago, LexieCat said: I'd start by googling--most oncologists have a bio online that says where they went to school and trained, any board certifications they may have, etc. That, and I'd ask questions to satisfy myself s/he is knowledgeable and experienced in the relevant treatments, etc. If they are talking surgery, you are probably early stage. Have you had a biopsy? Some nodules are too small to biopsy safely. I had surgery and the tumor was examined during the surgery. Have you had additional testing, such as a PET-CT scan to determine whether the cancer has spread? Is there something specific that concerns you, or do you just want to confirm that the oncologist is well-qualified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy1990 Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 I want to confirm the oncologist is well qualified.i had a 0.5 x 0.3 nodule previously now it’s 0.9 x 0.7 I also had a pet scan and a biopsy.at sloan Kettering they recommend surgery. I’m scared and I want to know the oncologist is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy1990 Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 Just now, Kathy1990 said: I want to confirm the oncologist is well qualified.i had a 0.5 x 0.3 nodule previously now it’s 0.9 x 0.7 I also had a pet scan and a biopsy.at sloan Kettering they recommend surgery. I’m scared and I want to know the oncologist is good. They said I could go for radiation but surgery would be better. I’m just very scared and I’m not good at tolerating pain I don’t know how much pain I will go through. But my main concern is how good the oncologist is and I’m trying to check out his background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Well, if he's practicing at Sloan-Kettering, that's a pretty good recommendation, right there. Did they talk about the type of surgery? Most lobectomies these days are done via VATS--laparascopic surgery involving three tiny incisions--or robotic surgery, which is essentially the same thing. Most people go home in a day or two and I was out with friends for dinner and a concert two weeks later. Honestly, my C-section hurt worse, and longer, than my lobectomy did. And yes, if a tumor is operable, surgery is WAY better than radiation in terms of treatment. Radiation is usually reserved for people who don't have the lung function to tolerate surgery or where the location of the tumor doesn't permit surgical removal. At this stage of the game you simply need a good, competent surgeon and oncologist. I didn't even see a medical oncologist until after my surgery, when I started having scans every few months. Whether you have chemo afterward or not will depend on the type and stage of the cancer. If, after surgery and pathology of the tumor, it turns out your cancer is more complicated (e.g., a rare type), you can always change oncologists. My own oncologist moved away just before I discovered my cancer had returned and spread after surgery. I didn't care much for the guy who took my old doc's place, so I went for a consult with another oncologist, with whom I felt much more comfortable and confident. I'm sure the first guy would have been fine, but when things get rough you want to feel really confident in your doctor. It was no big deal switching and I'm happy I did. Right now I think you want to concentrate on getting that surgery done and getting staged so you know exactly what you're dealing with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert A. Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Maybe this will help. https://www.healthgrades.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouT Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hi Kathy, Lexie and Robert have given you some good information on Lung Cancer and how to get more information on your oncologist. Are there are ny questions you have about LC (lung cancer) or surgery or other treatments? BTW, the oncologist may oversee your treatment but your surgeon and other members of your treatment plan will be important as well. I hear your concern about the pain. Yes, there is discomfort after surgery but mine was well-handled by the pain meds I was given. The only time I had real pain was when I did not take them as directed. Three days after surgery I was discharged, two weeks later I could (with effort) walk a mile and within a couple of months I was able to do five miles/day. There was some lingering nerve pain, but a medication took care of most of that for me and I (and many here) now live very full lives. I still have a bit of numbness on my right side, but that is always possible with thoracic surgery. If you decide you'd like to know more about how to prep for surgery and what to do to recover more quickly let me know as we have articles written about these things. One can be found here. Try and relax a bit and realize that you will get through this better than you think. Many of us found our surgical treatment this way. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like us to answer. We're here to support you. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Kathy Surgery is a peice of cake. I had a VAT Surgery 14 months ago. Followed by Chemo then Radiation. I would choose Surgery everytime. Especially if there is a good chance it may be the only treatment you need. Your Oncologist sounds fine. Treatment suggested sounds first line based on what little you've shared so far. I wanted the vile mass out as soon as possible. Just got my third scan yesterday. Still no recurrence and at this point No Evidence of Disease (NED). Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hi Kathy, I understand being scared. I was scared too. I had my lobectomy last November. My surgery was on a Wednesday and I was home on Friday. The first few days were uncomfortable but after that I was ok. I am still getting Keytruda infusions (I have one tomorrow) but the thrill of hearing that my cancer was gone made everything that I went through worth it. My friend @LouT has a blog post here about what to expect when you are having surgery. It helped me a lot. Good luck to you! Peace, light and great scans to all. Claudia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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