crap!

[polyannna]

The next available appointment with this neurosurgeon is Nov. 11. Nearly a month from now. I don't even know what kind of benign tumor I've got. Is it a glioma, astrocytoma, meningioma? I don't know my prognosis. I don't know what I need to plan for. I don't know anything. I can't wait a whole month to find out something so basic! Is this

Comments

[samtosha]

It is completely unacceptable. So, do you need a referral from your eye doc or can you just pick another surgeon on your own? Advocate for your own care because no one else is going to do it! That being said, there has got to be another neuro that can see you long before November 11th.

Thank you!

[polyannna]

That's what I thought!

I will get this straightened out today!

[azale]

Not to worry. This just means it's time (today!) to start making contact with other BT centers on your list. One of your questions to them should be "Can I send you a copy of my recent MRI?"

Do you have a copy of your MRI results? If not, I'd call up the records dept. at your current hospital and tell them you need a copy of the radiologist's report and a CD with your imaging. Then you can burn copies of the CD and start sending them out.

You've probably realized this by now, but... you don't know if it's benign or malignant. Good neurosurgeons can make a pretty good guess but you don't KNOW what's up until you have a biopsy.

I think this is not normal... for them to make you wait. The upside is that you don't have to wait.

Report

[waggle2]

Hi and sorry about your prognosis. Having had been there, and continue to do so every 6 months, I obtain my MRI reports directly after the MRI is completed and read by the radiologist. You can ask for yours. This will at least explain what he thinks the type of tumor is that he sees. From the edges of the tumor, for example, they can tell if it is a meningioma. No one should have to wait a month, this is totally unacceptable. Call or plant yourself in the doc's office. You need some answers now. Good luck and God bless!

[befers]

It's comon that it takes a long time to get an appointment with a neurosurgeon. It's completely irresponsible for the opthamologist to have given you the diagnosis he did in the way he did. It never should have been done over the phone, and certainly not while you were driving, for G-d's sake

Waiting!

[daniglover]

Look at it this way: you are so lucky you have options! Living in Canada, under the public healthcare system, sometimes there are no other options. I cannot tell you how many times my family has had to WAIT for my dad to either see a doctor or have a surgery because there simply aren't enough doctors or operating rooms. A lot of Americans think our system is better because it's free (which is great, I must admit), but the quality of care and the sheer volume of options Americans have probably makes the entire thing less worrisome.

So, I feel your pain having to wait, but I am glad you're able to sort-of shop around. I sincerely hope you don't have to wait, because waiting really is the worst part :)