Radiation recovery
Comments
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Hi Gilgi, I am not understanding what prescriptions you are talking about. I only had one prescription,, an antibiotic, when I had urination hesitancy. You are not understanding that the fist time I had blood in my urine was last week when I had surgery. I had a cystocopy one week before i had blood in my urine. It is wonderful that your husband is a wonderful caring doctor and human being. I absolutely positively do not agree with you regarding a malpractice suit for this doctor. OMG I may die within a year, my children have to suffer, and I have to be subjected to chemo. Sorry Gigil why should I have to suffer like this and he doesn't have to suffer any consequences. OMG that would be so unfair to me. At the very least he needs to suffer financially for this, and maybe he should doubt his practice. If I kept telling someone they were fine and never ordered a test I probably would get out of the business knowing I made a grave
amistake, and may injure an another patient. Your husband and most doctors are not like this. This doctor needs a wake up call. Hugs, Kate
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Josie, I was not looking forward to my boosts, but they were actually a little easier, if I remember correctly. The techs only had to hit one spot, so it went quicker. My skin was struggling a bit at that point, but the boosts didn't make it worse. I have olive skin and supposedly darker skin doesn't break down as badly. Not the case for me. At the end, the only thing that helped me was emu oil. I used a lot of it. After about a month of wearing loose garments and being bra less as much as I could things were pretty well improved. The skin on my radiated breast slowly peeled, like a sunburn, but now, 20 months later, things are pretty normal, except the radiated breast is a bit smaller. The boosts helped me to realize the end was near. That was the thought I kept in mind.
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Kate I never meant to imply that you shouldn't sue this guy. I agree wholeheartedly that you do not deserve this! I misunderstood your recount of your case. I thought you had hesitancy, called him, he gave you a prescription (which he should have had you come in for a follow up urinalysis afterward). That urinalysis would likely have shown microscopic blood which would have triggered a much earlier cystoscopy. The part I was mixed up on was the timing of the blood. I thought by what you said, you had an earlier incidence of blood, besides the one you had lately. Nonetheless, you are right, he definitely needs to take pause here and examine his methods. I am acutely aware that a doctor is only human, and capable of making mistakes.
This pains me so much that you are dealing with this. I will keep mum from here on and just support whatever direction you take. Love, GiGi0 -
Hi Gigil,
The only way this doctor is going to find out what happened to me is when he is served with a malpractice suit by an attorney. Why should I care that it won't be emotionally easy for my doctor when he hears what I am dealing with. Will he be the one in physical pain, will he be the one suffering from chemo, will he be the one who is frightened when changes occur in my body, will he be the one who has children suffering from this. Oh no it will be me who is in pain and scared to death, and suffering. To be perfectly honest I hope it won't be emotionally easy for him, because it is that much worse for me. That I have to suffer all the consequences and he doen't have to pay anything would be the most unfair thing I ever heard of. When I come back from Chicago I will spend everywaking moment on winning a malpractice suit. It will keep me busy. It will keep my mind off of my illness, and therefore it will be a very good thing for me. We are not talking about every doctor. Most doctors are competent and caring. This doctor is incompetent. Sorry if I don't feel compassion for him, because to be honest I have zero compassion for him. I always tell it like it is, and don't try to sound like a sweet person, when I have been injured, because I am not sweet when I have been done wrong. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Gigil,
I know you mean well, and that you are a very nice person. I always appreciate your support, and still do of course. You have always been wonderful to me. My last post was total venting. Thank you so much for letting me vent. Maybe it sounds too angry. To be honest I am drinking Chardonnay and get a touch mean when I have Chardonnay. Hugs, Kate P.S. Your husband sounds wonderful and he is on the opposite end of the spectrum from this doctor
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Kate you have a right to be angry and vent! I am a tough broad, and I do a good bit of venting on my own. xoxo
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Thanks Gigil Love you. Hugs, Kate
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Love you back! Hope you can rest tonight.
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josie123,
I finished my radiation almost 2 weeks ago. The boosts were no different than the other treatment. They just radiate the scar tissue and the duration was much shorter. Mine was probably 15 secs. I am glad you are almost done.
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Josie, I was thrilled to start boosts (4) because my tender, swollen nipple was not in the target area. Although I am very fair skinned, I had no major skin problems and the boosts made very little difference.
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I have to agree with Kate on this one. This doctor was extremely cavalier and discounted Kate's complaints each and every time. He kept saying "You had a colonoscopy so you are fine" which is crazy when you present symptoms AND had cancer pretty recently.
My mother in law is stage 4 colon cancer and she has months to live. She kept telling her PCP that something was wrong and that doctor told her the same thing. You had a colonoscopy just 3 years ago and it was fine. Nothing. After she could not defecate, he finally ordered tests. Sure enough, stage 3b. Then they told her she was in remission.
She kept telling them that she had a lot of pain in her abdomen and was exhausted. Finally they did a tumor marker test and found that it was off the charts. Stage 4! They did "chemo lite" on her due to the fact that she was 78 when they should have been more aggresive. This is common if you google it. They tend to undertreat people over the age of 75!
She was a HEALTHY ACTIVE 78 year old who walked 5 miles a day, ate low fat and worked out. She had a good decade left (her sisters lived to almost 100 and she was the baby) and yet they ignored her. She does not want to sue as she said it wouldn't be worth the effort although I told her she should. My father in law is taking care of her in her final days. She lives in FL and we feel so helpless cause we can't be there for her.
She did go to Dana Farber for a second opinion but they told her that she had carcinomatosis of her peritoneum now which is like millions of grains of sand that are cancerous so no surgery can help! If she were younger, they would try to strip them out and then bathe the peritoneum with a chemo solution, but they don't feel she would survive the surgery part as it is a long one and she is so weak. I am heartbroken. She is one of my favorite people on this earth.
Kate, I know that both Gigil and you are right. Sometimes people sue doctors for things that really could not have been helped and they win judgments that ruin the doctor's career and that is also unfair. But, the ONLY way we can stop doctor's from harming people sometimes is to hit them in the pocketbook. It is not about the money. It is about the lesson learned. Taking our complaints seriously is so important.
My daughter has won some big awards for people who have been harmed by egregious practices and she gets rewarded with comments like "amubulance chaser" etc. She is proud of what she does. She would NEVER take a case without merit. Her firm is the oldest most respected litigation firm in all of Boston and they don't advertise on television or the side of city buses! She listened to what I told her about your case and gave me the name of that firm for you. She would have told me if you did not likely have a case. She said she would need a lot more information before she ever took a case but that from the preliminary of what I told her, you may very well have one.
I hope that it is settled and that this doctor never poo-poo's anyone's concerns ever again.
Hugs Gigil and Kate!
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This it the third time I've tried posting this message. Anyone else having problems?
Kate, are you saying that this jerk never ordered a urinalysis? That he prescribed an antibiotic without a followup (and normally, annual) urinalysis? I agree with Gigil that microscopic blood would have been a likely finding. And perhaps abnormal cells as well.
As you know, I agree that this guy needs a legal process. I also agree with Gigil that his primary suffering will be emotional and professional. It also seems to me that it is his comeuppance that will give you the most satisfaction. Money is, of course an issue for everyone concerned: you, the physician, his family, and both attorneys. While he will certainly have expenses (time and money), whatever settlement or award you receive is very likely to be well within his malpractice coverage.
My lawyer (who really messed up my divorce this summer, so might not be the best person to quote) said about medical malpractice cases (which apparently he does more effectively than divorce trials), "You can get a little money in a short time or a lot of money in a very long time." Please be careful not to get dragged into a five-year process. The only one who will really, really benefit by fighting for a very large award is the lawyer who is paid on contingency. And he has to weigh the potential outcome against a growing number of hours devoted to the case.
I agree that this "project" will give you a focus other than your health, and that is good, but, as several other posters have indicated, the legal process is stressful, sometimes very much so, and I urge you to go for the short and sweet (I'd guess this would be one year or so) outcome. A healthy attack can so easily turn into a not-so-healthy, seemingly endless, soul destroying tedium.
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Thanks for everyone's comments about the boosts.I feel a little better about it now.My skin has held up pretty darn good.It's very red but the only area of concern for 'm is around the nipple.The only issue that seems bothersome to me is the internal pain.OMG I can't sleep on that side and cringe just turning over to the other side.Ouch.I do have some Emu oil mixed with cocoa butter I might start using that too.My other breast(the good one) seems to be having sympathy pains lately.
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BrooksideVT, great point about the boosts missing the nipple! That's the part of my skin that is most sensitive so far (15/30 rads as of yesterday). I hope my boosts will leave my nipple alone too, but my incision is at the edge of the areola. Hmmm. I'm having a CT scan to map for boosts this coming week so I guess I can find out. Josie123, great to hear your skin is holding up, but sorry about the internal pain. I've had some of that too, though it's backed off the last couple of days, phew.
Katehudson25, it's just awful what has happened to you. I think there are times when it's not worth the angst of suing a doctor, and I'm sure there are medical malpractice lawsuits that are frivolous. (That's a little slap at unscrupulous lawyers. My husband's a lawyer so I'm not saying that to bash the whole profession by any means.) But not this one. I see the merit in your case for sure, and in the awful case about your husband! What a horrible way to lose a loved one! Even just initiating this lawsuit in your current situation seems worthwhile. Not only will this doctor learn from it, but I hope others will hear about it and learn as well. This doctor's malpractice insurance premium will go up, at the very least--and I believe it should. He REALLY blew it. I imagine--and as GigiL says, I hope--he already feels badly because he's probably already gotten the report from your surgery and pathology. But his guilt, embarrassment, and/or sorrow don't stack up against your experiences, now and to come.
Meanwhile you have helped anyone you tell this to, because it's a lesson once again to persist in checking out unusual symptoms and not allow doctors to be mellow about our health. April485, so sorry about your mother-in-law! What an awful story! Same catastrophic lesson it seems. Back when patients, maybe especially women, always assumed the doctor was right, most people didn't live as long as they do now--and that was part of the reason, but it was buried because few thought to question. Stupid cancer.
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Hi April,
So sorry about yout mother-in-law. I agree with you and Gigil that sometimes patients sue doctors for all of the wrong reasons, but my case is different.. Another lesson learned is that you know your body. If you feel something is wrong go for a second and third opinion, don't trust the opinion of just one doctor that you trust, and that is where I erred. Thanks so much for your support. Please thank your daughter for me. I will get started in this when I come back from Chicago. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Brookside,
You are right he nevered ordered a urinalysis, and he prescribed an antibotic without a follow up. I would love to be able to settle this in a year rather than a long drawn out affair. Thanks so much for your advice and your support. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Josie,
So sorry that you are not feeling well. Moisturize, moisturize and moisturize will be the most helpful, Hope you are feeling better soon. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Runfree 16,
Thanks you so much for your support. words can't even describe all the love I feel from all of you fantastic bc sisters. Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes to know I have so much support, It also gives me more motivation to kick chemo and cancer in the butt. I can't let my bc sisters down so I will fight with every ounce of energy I have for the win for me, and for the win for my bc sisters. Robin on GMA has a big support team, but not as big as mine with fierce warriors like my bc sisters halping me kick chemo and cancer in the but. I love all of you, and cherish your support. Hugs, Kate
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Kate, Robin ( God bless her) has nothing on you! Your spirit and good attitude is going to get you though this, your team of BC Sisters will be here along the way, you have touched our hearts.
So, regarding the malpractice I will be pulling for you. With all the frivolous lawsuits happening everyday it sure makes it rough to succeed when you are in the right. I am sorry to hear what happened to your DH, horrible. I do feel sorry for the doctors that are doing the right thing and make a careless error, they are only human. In your case it was neglect, it was not caring enough entirely different. A friend of mines hubby is a retired cardiologist, he had to join the big wigs at a hospital as he could no longer afford his practice. They actually had quotas to fill monthly on stints and open heart surgery's.. he got out for 2 reasons- 1. he couldn't do procedures that were not needed 2. he wanted out before Obamacare came along. Yet another good doc lost. I am sure that GiGiL's DH means the world to his patients. I don't know whats going to happen with Obamacare but I am worried. I have excellent insurance, I pay my deductable then all services are covered 100%. I hit my deductable in February this year. Since then everything is covered fully. I am considering a DIEP knowing I better do it this year or may not be able to afford it. No one should base their care and health on cost, sadly many do. I also notice that some women here do not get the same tests I get as they have poor or no insurance.. that is sinful. I am going way off subject now sorry.
Your health and your quality of life and those you love is all that matters. You have someone you trust now to take care of you like you need to be. Get a good lawyer and let he/she fight with you by their side, you cant lose.
much love-
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Oh yes, I am sorry my employer is at 55 East Monroe in Chicago across from the Historic Palmer House. Oout the window it overlooks Millenium Park. I have been there about 30 times in my nine years of employment. Love to go to Navy Pier in the summer. I also love the old Marshall Field (now Macy's) bottom floor has the best candy shop anywhere!! Also enjoy the casinos in Joliet and Aurora. Have a great time with your family.
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Lemon68, Your Post is so nice it brought tears to my eyes. OMG my team of bc sisters are the best, and they will keep motivating me to have a positive attitude and kick cancer in the butt. Thank you so much for your support. You are a doll xoxo Kate
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Hi Lemon,
I haven't been to the palmer House for many years, but I have been to a number of functions there. I love Navy Pier too. As a child I grew up shopping at Marshall Fields. Went there every Xmas to see the decorations. I don't like to go anymore, because it saddens me to see Macy's. love to play black jack and poker, so I love the casinos there too. It would be great if we could meet there sometime Hugs, Kate
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Is the Palmer House the place with the Oak bar?
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it's been over 30 years since I have been to the Palmer house and I have forgotten. I went to many high school dances and proms there
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I think I remember going there a few years ago.
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Does anyone have a problem with nightsweats? It wakes me up every night, and my head and hair are soaked. Normally I wash my hair twice a week, and now I have to wash it every day. My doctor told me tylenol will relieve nightsweats, but it is doing absolutely nothing for me. Does anyone know of any remedies.
My trip is only 3 days away, and I am getting very excited. I wanted to buy a few things to wear there, but it will be difficult. It is going to be 75-80 here this week and 40 in Chicago. There is a posssibility of snowflakes in Chicago, and I would be so happy to see snow. I need to go there to feel the love, and then come home and kick cancer in the butt while I find an excellent malpractice attorney working hard to kick my pcp's butt.
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Good Morning!
Lemon, I don't think Obamacare will have all that much impact on those privately insured through work etc. I do think that those who previously had no access to healthcare will finally be able to be treated. Especially those with pre-existing conditions. There is a lot of misinformation about what Obamacare will and won't do and even employers and insurance companies are confused about it but as it is written, it should not affect you or me or anyone who is already insured. It is meant to give access to those who would otherwise not have it and reports of "death panels" etc are greatly exaggerated and untrue. Also, insurance companies NEED to be held accountable and be competitive and that is what this will do moving forward. They are outrageous as they stand and have been riding roughshod over us for years, charging more and more and more until they are squeezing most people out completely That HAD to change. I live in CT, the insurance state and they are laying off people by the hundreds cause they know it is time to pay the piper and act in a prudent manner. They have grown fat and rich over the years on the backs of working folks and it is time they stopped that!
I know my "liberal" politics are showing, but the nightmare that is medicaid (not medicare) will soon be over for poor people. Most docs don't accept it and the wait for less than great services is long and arduous. My uncle went through hell with his illness until he was old enough for medicare which is a little better but not much. Since I am a social worker by trade, I have looked at the law pretty closely and it is not the nightmare many think it will be. It will really be pretty much business as usual but the doctors and the insurance companies will have to be more accountable. My BIOPSY was 12k (core needle) and the insurance company paid 1900 for this. How can that be? This is the reimursement rate worked out between the hospital and the insurance company. Someone with no insurance would be on the hook for the entire 12K. Not fair!
Anyway, it will be ok...
Kate, nightsweats are pretty common with cancer it appears and/or menopause, so you really don't have a lot of options other than keeping your room really cool and/or getting a medication from your doctor to see if it helps (like black cohash which you can get over the counter but always check with your doctor first!)
Ok, have a great day ladies!
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Hi April,
Thanks for letting me know about black cohash I will assk my doctor about it. Hugs, Kate
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Unfortunately black cohosh is not an option for us ER+ ladies! :-(
Acupuncture is safe and can be effective at treating hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.0 -
That is true! I actually did a clinical trial of two weeks of black cohosh (I am at Yale) as they found it lowered the KI-67. I don't know the outcome and won't until the trial is over I suspect. I have not taken it since but was told it was safe for me even though I am highly ER+. Never take anything without checking with your MO first. Mine was the one running the trial! Here is the link! The lady whose picture you see in my MO! She is a doll..love her!
http://medicine.yale.edu/cancer/patient/programs/breast/trials/Yale9799114.trial
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