The Overwhelm of Multiple Doctors

I have been frequenting the doctor’s office this year. Not because of my cancer specifically, but because of other things. Earlier in the year, a cyst was found on my ovary from my regular CT scans. We were not too alarmed because those pesky things seem to come and go. At my gynecologist's yearly appointment, I mentioned to him the cyst and provided a copy of the report for which at the time he opted to just watch for a month or so.

After that month was up, we learned that the cyst was growing, so as a precaution he wanted to remove the ovary. Thankfully, it was a simple cyst and nothing to be alarmed about and everything else looked fine.

Another ovarian cyst...

Moving forward a mere three weeks after my surgery to my next four-month scan. A pesky ovarian cyst showed up on the other side. This led me to ask lots of questions, looking at older radiology reports from scans and also looking at the ultrasound reports. Was this one missed or is it new? How do I know? Either way -- it’s there and it’s growing fast. The cycle of making sure both doctors had all of my labs and reports began. So, we take the same approach as just a few months prior -- we watch it. My oncologist wasn’t alarmed by it in the beginning and said that unless it was bothering me or causing pain, he didn’t see a reason for another surgery a mere few months later.

At my next four-month scans, the cyst was even bigger. This time my oncologist says to remove it. So back to the OR I go -- this time for a hysterectomy at 39.

Conflicting lab results

The running between the two doctors was exhausting. On one day, I had appointments with both. I am not sure why I did that to myself, but I did. My oncologist appointment was for only labs and my gynecologist was a follow-up. Both doctors took labs that day. I asked why we were doing labs at my gynecologist's office and was told that he requested it. I went with it. My oncologist told me that my blood worked looked great and to keep on the path. Within a day or two, my gynecologist's office called to tell me that my kidney function test showed some elevation. So, I clearly start worrying and asking questions. Major confusion set in. My oncologist ran all of that too. One was based upon blood work and the other urine. Which is better? Which is accurate?

Searching for clarity and answers

So, I start digging and looking and comparing numbers from literally the same day within hours of each other. My numbers all in the normal range from my labs at the oncologist's office. So, I get on the phone and start asking questions. I polled some of my practitioner friends. So not only am I facing another surgery but now I am worried that I am approaching kidney failure.

Thankfully, it all panned out, but for a moment I was very concerned, confused, and frustrated.

We are our best advocates

I am grateful for thorough doctors very much, but it gets confusing sometimes. My oncologist treats cancer only, yet I tend to rely on him for everything else also. I want his thoughts. I kind of treat him like a primary care physician. I take his advice ultimately, but at the same time, my gynecologist is the one that found my lung cancer and didn’t disregard or overlook nodules that were notated on an abdominal CT on the lower portion of my lungs, but was solution minded.

I trust both of them very much. It was very overwhelming getting two different results on literally the same day. One would talk to me about elective surgery while the other said it wasn’t emergent and to leave it alone and then both agreed that I needed to have the other ovary removed as a precaution due to my history. At one point, I wondered if my oncologist and my gynecologist could just have a phone conversation to eliminate some of the back and forth, but in my three-year journey, I have come to realize that we are our best advocates. We keep going.