Hi Brainstorker,
When I was diagnosed on April 1st, 2003, my oral surgeon called, while we were in his office, the best head and neck doc at our cancer center. This head and neck doc had me come that very minute to his office, took me straight back to the exam room, and spent over 45 minutes with my husband and myself, answering every question I had. He even hugged me when I started to cry. When it was time for me to leave, his nurse and staff had set up all my appointments for cat scans, mri's, blood work,radiation center and an appointment for my surgery. They gave me the number for the patient advocate at the hospital and gave me direct numbers for them if I had any questions. My husband and I had to do NOTHING to get my care set up. If I had gone to my first appointment and got the impression that the doctor was impatient and didn't have time for me, I would be walking out his door, not looking back, and go straight for a second opinion with a doctor that WANTED to take care of me. I'm not judging your doctor, just sharing my experience and my thoughts.
It's tough enough to deal with a diagnosis of cancer, you should NOT have to deal with unanswered questions and feeling like you have to tip toe around any staff.
In your shoes, I would be at the best facility possible even if it meant leaving my home. I'm just like you, I struggle with being away from my home and would stay in it days on end if I could. BUT, knowing what I know now, I would stay away from home for months if it meant good treatment. I was lucky that my facility was 15 minutes from my house.
Good luck and keep in mind that no one cares about your treatment as much as you do, fight for yourself and be your own number one advocate.
Take care,
Minnie