Please Help: Need New Onc. Live in Orange Cty, CA

01-05-2006, 02:46 PM

Hi Everyone,

I have found great support and wisdom on this site since I was diagnosed and treated for stage 1, node neg. breast cancer (her2+++, er-/pr-, high grade 3, 8 on the Bloom-Richardson score). It is a new year and I am ready for a new breast cancer oncologist for several reasons.

I would like them to have the three "c's": to be competent, to be caring and to be cutting-edge. If you have an onc. that you feel may be inclined to give Herceptin after having been finished with treatment AND has all these great characteristics (I know, this may be a stretch), please share it here or, if you prefer to write me privately, please contact me at zimmermanvicki@yahoo.com. I am REALLY ready to get on with this, so your timely response is appreciated!! I am willing to drive 50 miles if they are worth it (I live in Newport Beach), so that I can interview them and see if we're a good fit. Names of doctors I've heard that may be worth considering (if you hear otherwise, I'd like to hear that, too, knowing that there are many things and opinions in the mix). Dr. Nagasawa in Mission Viejo, Dr. Neal Barth in Newport Beach, Dr. Nora Ku in Torrance. Others? Opinions?

My reasons for changing: I chose to stay at the same hospital/treatment center because I loved my surgeon and plastic surgeon, but felt the onc. was less than adequate. I did FAC for five sessions and TCH for only 12 weeks (I wish I'd had at least six months of Herceptin). I'm troubled because I pushed very hard for Herceptin (I finished my treatment in Aug., 2004) and now my onc. is giving it to node neg. patients for one year. After seeing the major news story on Herceptin this year, it appears my instincts were very good which is why I want a new oncologist, because I want them to be GUIDING ME and I want them to be smarter than I am.

Why should I have to be the one with the insight and knowledge? I WANT MY ONC. to be smarter than I am and I want the person to be looking ahead into the future with these suggestions and changes in treatment. My onc. has never given me blood test for tumor markers and offered it finally on my last visit. She didn't given me a regular blood test on my last two visits since I'd seen my pcp who ordered a cbc and comp. met. panel. She has not done CT or Pet and only focuses her talk on statistics. My apologies...I didn't mean to go on so. Bottom line: if you can send a referral, please do so; I'd love to hear from you and want to feel good about making the change. I just feel that I'd like to take Herceptin a little longer than the 12 weeks. I'm going in next week for the CEA, ca15-3 and ca27-29 test. Thanks for helping me. Vicki Z

al from Canada · 01-05-2006, 04:59 PM

that you have the combined intelligence of this forum, and no doctor has the time to read all the cutting edge stuff we do. I believe the perfect oncologist is not neccessarily one who is smarter than you but one who has the ability to consider you as a partner in treatment. I do agree that you need a new one and hope someone will give you a referral. All of us here deserve the absolute BEST medical treatment avialable; the only problem is that it is also us who has the find this elusive soul.
Good luck.
Al
PS I love the 3-c's

AlaskaAngel · 01-05-2006, 08:27 PM

I don't have a name to recommend or much to add to what Al said, except to say that the amount of information about cancer in general and breast cancer in particular is being growing so fast that it might be best to seek out an onc who specializes in breast cancer and maybe go one step further to try to find one who specializes in HER2.

A.A.

Esther · 01-06-2006, 02:47 PM

If you would be willing to drive to UCLA, I highly recommend Dr. Pegram at the Johnsson Cancer Center there. He is known as a top researcher and was in on the development of Herceptin.