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Chelee · 10-03-2009, 08:58 PM

Kim you made a very good point about these super doc's. This onc Joe recommended and she has a very impressive backround! I can see she is a very busy person & I'm just happy that I even got the appt. to see her. She sounds well qualified & then some! I just didn't know if that was a normal wait time or my darned HMO stalling and delaying things. I never had these problems in a PPO. I'm just quite anxious understandable so.

I tried a different number for Dr. Slamon then the one Jean left for me the other day. All I got was a message machine for new patients...so I left a message I haven't heard back from them. But first thing Monday morning I will call the # Jean left for me. I plan to pay out of pocket for Dr. Slamon, so maybe I can get into see him before my other appt. at City of Hope. That would help me immensely. I called the case manager that is handling my case & she said with my HMO I can't have two 2nd opinions...I find that hard to believe when dealing with an aggressive bc. (I think she is wrong!) But for now I'm not wasting time arguing with them...I don't care what it cost for me to see Dr. Slamon...I'll gladly pay for it...well worth the money, which equals peace of mind.

I've been staying busy going thru all my medical records & trying to put things in order...on top of tons of research till I'm blind. I also have my brain MRI on the 6th...pray that comes back clear...I have enough to deal with at the moment. Then labs, my onc & Herceptin on the 12th.

Chelee

10-03-2009, 08:58 PM	#11
Chelee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern, CA Posts: 2,511	Re: 2nd opinion question? Kim you made a very good point about these super doc's. This onc Joe recommended and she has a very impressive backround! I can see she is a very busy person & I'm just happy that I even got the appt. to see her. She sounds well qualified & then some! I just didn't know if that was a normal wait time or my darned HMO stalling and delaying things. I never had these problems in a PPO. I'm just quite anxious understandable so. I tried a different number for Dr. Slamon then the one Jean left for me the other day. All I got was a message machine for new patients...so I left a message I haven't heard back from them. But first thing Monday morning I will call the # Jean left for me. I plan to pay out of pocket for Dr. Slamon, so maybe I can get into see him before my other appt. at City of Hope. That would help me immensely. I called the case manager that is handling my case & she said with my HMO I can't have two 2nd opinions...I find that hard to believe when dealing with an aggressive bc. (I think she is wrong!) But for now I'm not wasting time arguing with them...I don't care what it cost for me to see Dr. Slamon...I'll gladly pay for it...well worth the money, which equals peace of mind. I've been staying busy going thru all my medical records & trying to put things in order...on top of tons of research till I'm blind. I also have my brain MRI on the 6th...pray that comes back clear...I have enough to deal with at the moment. Then labs, my onc & Herceptin on the 12th. Chelee __________________ DX: 12-20-05 - Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu, 3+++,Er & Pr weakly positive, 5 of 16 pos nodes. Rt. MRM on 1-3-06 -- No Rads due to compromised lungs. Chemo started 2-7-06 -- TCH - - Finished 6-12-06 Finished yr of wkly herceptin 3-19-07 3-15-07 Lt side prophylactic simple mastectomy. -- Ooph 4-05-07 9-21-09 PET/CT "Recurrence" to Rt. axllia, Rt. femur, ilium. Possible Sacrum & liver? Now stage IV. 9-28-09 Loading dose of Herceptin & started Zometa 9-29-09 Power Port Placement 10-24-09 Mass 6.4 x 4.7 cm on Rt. femur head. 11-19-09 RT. Femur surgery - Rod placed 12-7-09 Navelbine added to Herceptin/Zometa. 3-23-10 Ten days of rads to RT femur. Completed. 4-05-10 Quit Navelbine--Herceptin/Zometa alone. 5-4-10 Appt. with Dr. Slamon to see what is next? Waiting on FISH results from femur biopsy. Results to FISH was unsuccessful--this happens less then 2% of the time. 7-7-10 Recurrence to RT axilla again. Back to UCLA for options.