Hi everyone,
I wanted to post on here to see if anyone has had the same or similar experience as us. This has quite possible been the worst weekend for my mum and myself - and I am still angry and in shock on how such life-changing news was delivered.
For background, my mum was diagnosed with osteoporosis arthritis a few years back but since March of this year, the pain has gotten significantly worse. The pain was more in her shoulder and neck and usual pain killers were not touching it. She went to the doctors who sent her for blood tests. The blood tests showed there was inflammation and so she was then referred on to a rheumatologist who subsequently sent her to have have a full body CT scan. They wouldn't give her much information at the time as to what they were looking for, which I thought was appropriate. Who can possible say anything until results have been fully analysed and referred on to appropriate experts. Well, fast forward a few weeks to Thursday last week, the Rheumatologist called my mum early in the morning and said these exact words: " I am very sorry to say but you have lung cancer. Would you like me to speak with your husband." As you can imagine, my mum was absolutely floored and destroyed by this. And we are still so confused as to why the news was delivered in such a cold and inappropriate way? A phone call, really? Anyway, my mum asked the question what's next, and the rheumatologist said she is being referred onto a oncologist next week (she has had to wait a week since receiving that absolute bomb) where they will discuss a biopsy. So from my understanding, my mum has not yet seen a oncologist, her results have not yet been analysed by an oncologist, nor has she had a biopsy.
Maybe I am in denial here, and emotion is getting the better of me, but is a rheumatologist at all qualified to be making phone calls like this? Before my mum's results were even seen by a oncologist? I have to say I find this all bizarre and its been incredibly upsetting for us to go through. My sister is a doctor and specialises in cancer research and she is also absolutely gobsmacked by this consultant's behaviour. She believes this was out of the consultant's area of expertise and should never have made that diagnosis and follow up call to my mum.
So now we are all in limbo and don't know what to think? Maybe I am holding onto hope but has anyone experienced anything like this?
