Debbie,


I still think he and his staff needs sensativity training, there are better ways to get things across...especially if you've already identified yourself as a cancer patient. I've had to deal with idiots like those over the last two years and I have no patience for them.

The proper response after being identified as someone with cancer referred by an Oral Surgeon would be that they would make sure the Dr got your file ASAP and then get back to you as soon as the Dr had a chance to review it. For the patients peace of mind the person answering the phone should relay that they'll do everything they can to make sure the Dr get's your info...after that it's on the Dr. But leaving a newly diagnosed cancer patient to believe it will take weeks or months to even get a consult is akin to psychological torture and is just horrible business practice to boot.

Tangent aside, before getting a PET/CT scan and reviewing the original sides, the Dr really doesn't know how involved your next surgery is going to be...so I'm thinking the recovery time is an estimate. I just had a skin graft on the inside of my mouth with donor tissue from the hip/groin area. Your mouth is going to be stitched/sutured and likely gauzed up for several weeks. My skin graft was done over a month ago and not all of the stitches have dissolved yet. But these are also questions you'll want to address.

Great job of bringing in questions, bringing someone else with you is always helpful as they'll think of questions you might not...and it's good to have that support. Dr's are notorious for not giving out information..you have to pry it out of them, I've often thought about subjecting them to waterboarding myself.

Good to hear that you like this guy and that things seem to be going good. Don't hesitate to ask any questions on here..that's what we are here for.

Good luck,

Eric