[Cathya]

I did have one awfully frustrating and potentially deadly experience with an oncologist. When I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer it had been almost 14 years since my original diagnosis of breast cancer but it had been an advanced one....stage 3c. I underwent the operation and chemotherapy for the ovarian and was monitored (and still am) by the CA125. As it started to increase I was given an abdominal CT with negative results for mets. This continued and my CA125 kept going up. The ovarian oncologists were a team so I didn't see the same one each visit. I kept bringing up my breast cancer but each one seemed to ignore it. Finally I got an older oncologist who, when I brought it up again immediately went to the notes and order a chest and abdominal CT. It was then the mets in my lungs were found. A biopsy was taken and it was discovered to be breast mets not ovarian and I have now a wonderful bc oncologist and am on a great treatment. Because the normal tm for ovarian was rising they didn't think it could have anything to do with bc however, if you have tumour in the pleura of your lungs this tm can be used. I don't know if things work this way in the states but here in Ontario each different cancer has a different oncology specialist who do not really overlap. Ultimately my luck changed when I had the senior surgical oncologist from the ovarian team use her guilty influence to get me an appointment with the most brilliant research bc oncologist.

Lesson very definitely learned.

Cathy