6 posts shown.
Hello,
I’ve posted here before—my mother is currently being evaluated by oncology, and they're planning a biopsy. It involves bone tissue from her lumbar spine area.
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this specific procedure? They are also looking at performing a vertebroplasty at the same time, which means she would likely undergo general anesthesia.
She is 84 years old and has some heart issues. It feels a bit risky, I guess.
If anyone has any insight, I’d appreciate it.
Hello,
I’ve posted here before—we took my mom to see an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, but things are still pretty unclear. The doctor specializes in mesenchymal tumors, which covers melanomas, and Mom is being treated for brachytherapy melanoma in her eye. He wants to admit her for a few days to run a CT scan on all those "suspicious" areas and organs, potentially followed by a biopsy and some blood work. We’re just waiting for an available bed right now.
Just a practical question, if anyone knows—the paperwork says she needs a negative COVID PCR test to be admitted. How old can that test actually be? I mean, how many days prior does it need to be done? If anyone has any info, I’d really appreciate it.
Honestly, I’m more worried about Mom withdrawing into herself lately. She’s barely communicating—just this heavy apathy, lying there constantly... I’m not sure how to "bring her back" to her normal self (you know, how she was before we heard the news about the potential metastasis).
@Anthony Hernandez47, thanks a lot. I went ahead and ordered a two-week supply of Rib for my mom to start with—just to get things moving. Maybe I'll manage to find some kind of "connection" later on for the public hospitals... everyone seems to pull strings like that, so I suppose it's the only way left. Also, if it turns out oncologists really do insist on requesting a PET/CT first—it might actually be faster (or just better) to just pay for the PET/CT privately.
Hello, I’m joining this group—unfortunately, I find myself here too. It's due to my mother's situation (she's 83) and some potential cancer she might be facing. We are based in NYC. I’ll get into the specifics in a moment, but for now, it really boils down to one main question:
– which oncologist in NYC (private or otherwise) is worth seeing if we already have radiology results (an MRI) suggesting a malignant tumor? It likely points to metastatic changes in the vertebrae, and the primary tumor might (possibly) be from the breast. Essentially, I need a recommendation for a solid oncologist who can confirm the diagnosis (or direct us toward further testing before a final call) and then explain the prognosis and available options.
I need to take action; I can't just sit around watching everyone else stall. With the holidays coming up, nobody seems to be at the hospitals.
To give you more context... over the last few months, Mom has had trouble walking and her lower back has been hurting. We went to a pain management clinic, and they insisted on seeing an MRI of her lumbar spine before they would even address the pain. To avoid any delays, we went ahead and had the MRI done privately.
The scan was done about a week ago at a private imaging center using a 3T machine with contrast, focusing on the lumbar spine. The results showed (among other things) "fresh compressive fractures in the L1 and L2 vertebral bodies, suggesting intraosseous, secondary propagation of a primary process (breast?)" and recommended seeing an oncologist immediately. As I understand it, this would mean bone cancer—specifically metastatic bone cancer that started somewhere else, perhaps the breast.
So, the first question, as I mentioned—who should we see? Does anyone have recommendations for a good oncologist? Is it better to go private or wait for the hospital queue? How long is the typical wait for an oncologist when using a referral through Medicare? And specifically, which private oncologist is actually worth the investment?
My second question—since certain family members are reacting this way—is whether there is any "sense" in doing anything at all. Mom is 83, and she’s dealing with the usual age-related issues (diabetes, heart problems, blood pressure)—so they're telling me: maybe we should look into palliative care or hospice right away (even though we don't have a confirmed diagnosis yet). Mom, for her part, understands what the diagnosis might be and is handling it okay, though she might not fully realize how much pain this could eventually cause... So, my second question is really this: what are your experiences or insights regarding treatment and general management for malignant tumors in the elderly (80+)? I'm not talking about a "cure," but rather about stopping the spread, making these final years more comfortable, and everything related to that.
Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone might know—which private oncologist in Chicago would be worth seeing—if someone has an MRI report suggesting a malignant tumor? It looks like there might be metastatic changes in the spine, and the primary tumor could (perhaps) be from the breast. Essentially, I’m looking for a recommendation for a solid oncologist who can confirm the diagnosis—or perhaps suggest further testing before making it official—and then walk through the prognosis and available options. We're talking about an elderly patient here.
Hi,
I have a bit of a "technical" or perhaps bureaucratic question—if anyone happens to know the answer, please let me know.
My mother (she's over 80) is dealing with some incontinence issues. She hasn't used pads before, but she really needs them now.
Her urologist noted the need for them in her medical report, and the local pharmacy gave her a few different samples to try out. However, now Medicare is asking for specific product codes and sizes to process the prescription...
I assume they need the code for the CMS database, but I’m honestly lost on where or how to find that information.
Should I head back to the pharmacy, or is there somewhere online I can look this up? The pharmacist gave us those trial pads without the packaging, so there isn't any labeling on them to go by.