Skip to main content

Time to fire the oncologist

Well, I've just about had it.

After providing documentation to the fact that Velcade does not affect the kidneys, and is in fact beneficial to the kidneys, the "fill in" oncologist, admitted that to be the case, and then proceeded to come up with a new excuse. She said the reason for not resuming the Velcade was that the risk of a stroke was high during the plasmapheresis process, and if the platelets went down that could be a problem.

She then went on to add,
I'm covering my ass!

Can you believe that? The reason she doesn't want to resume the Velcade is because she's more worried about herself, than she is Edie.

Since that time I have done some research, and talked to someone knowledgeable in the field of plasmapheresis, and discovered, that the risk of stroke is minimal at worst, and only when the platelets are starting out at a relatively low amount. Edie's currently is over 200 (reference range 130 - 400).

So while Edie's creatinine is still at 5.3 after the second plasmapheresis treatment, her hemoglobin continues to drop, and the myeloma continues to progress, the "fill in" oncologist, doesn't care. She just wants to go on treating the symptoms, instead of the cause of the disease, because she cares more about her ass, than she cares about Edie.

Unfortunately, she is the oncologist on call for the weekend, so there is no way to get in touch with anyone else, until Monday morning.

So tomorrow (Sunday) evening, we are going to fire her (that's what patient services said we have to do), and get another oncologist [hopefully mine will be willing to take over] in the interim, until Edie's regular oncologist returns on September 4th.

I just hope we haven't waited too long.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The results are in

And I am iron deficient, big time. [Which would account for my low hemoglobin] Test Result Ref Range IRON 30 59-158 mcg/dL TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 231 250-420 mcg/dL IRON SAT 13 20-50 % My Ferritin levels were good, but that could be because Ferritin is also an "acute phase reactant", that is sometimes increased with acute or chronic disease. Folate and B12 levels were also within the normal range. The only problem now is determining what is causing the iron deficiency, which in the case of men, is [very] rare. My oncologist has given me a Globin Fecal test to perform, and has scheduled me for a consultation with a colorectal surgeon to discuss performing a colonoscopy, which could be problematic because of my large spleen. In the mean time, I've decided to start taking an iron supplement, it's only the quantity that is causing me some consternation. I've been told by a very knowledgeable person that to overcome an iron deficiency, I need to be taking 300 mg o...
5 comments
Read more

This is just one of those days

It's one of those days you just want to sit around the house and do absolutely nothing, or watch some movies you have recorded. It might even be a good day to read a book, if you were so inclined, which I am not. As you should be able to see from the view out my bedroom window, it is raining outside. The rain started last night, and hasn't let up since. I can't complain too much though, as this is the rainy season, and we do need the rain. Plus Monday's are typically my day off from exercise, so I will surprise everyone, and not complain. I just feel sorry for anyone who might be visiting from, say Argentina, like a friend of mine (fellow MCLer), who happens to be in Cambria today. He might be a little disappointed. Fortunately the rest of the week, when he will be in LA, will be nice, and the real intent of his trip was to visit his son in Tahoe, who works at one of the ski resorts, and ski, so I know he's not complaining too much either. This weather will actually...
6 comments
Read more

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...
11 comments
Read more