Hi Cathy, I did talk candidly about this--especially the lack of communication-- to the medical oncologist's nurse who is the ear and often acting arm (she has been an oncology nurse for 25 years and realy knows her stuff)of the medical oncologist (who is super-busy). I said it appeared to me that rad. medicine at the hospital was thinking that the medical oncologists' office was meant to be some kind of intermediary in informing me about scheduling, since I had only heard from the med. oncologists office about when I was scheduled for radiation. She did't seem happy about that and agreed I needed to have better communication with them directly.

The medical oncologist, I found out, was originally at Sloan Kettering. He moved to upstate NY because he wanted to raise his kids here. I think that background, though, gives him more clout with the Roswell Park folks who are running radiation medicine right now (more clout as opposed to, say, my ENT, who is clearly willing to advocate for me but doesn't have specific trianing in oncology). So I am hoping the med. oncologist and his nurse, who I will se regularly as long as I can take the Amifostine, can become my allies here.