Cancer Safety Dot Com

In order to lay a foundation for this post I want to share why I think these painful memories are prominent in my heart and mind.  I never legally addressed wrongdoings that happened in California, and I am not taking a legal approach to resolve matters related to being fired by my doctor.  

What IS coming to the surface again is my heartache as to how that impacted my family, especially my mom. They had to absorb my anger and pain of knowing in my heart that this viscious act delayed my cancer diagnosis.  So I beg you to please forgive me.  Mother's Day is coming up and her passing is too fresh.  Her struggles and pain are right in front of me.  She is in good care now with God, I just have to repeat that over and over right now.  This is why I pray all the time.  I need God to help me.

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I think it is important for everyone to know that there are resources to help us know we are or aren't receiving quailty medical care. The Cancer Safety Council https://www.cancersafety.com is a Seattle based organization that presents itself as a patient resource to help those who may need another professional eye to view their medical care.

This is not an endorsement but I felt like this type of resource should be known to those of us in the cancer community.  It is your life....

My gynonc is fully trusted by me.  My faith in her is essential to my healing and to how my treatments are keeping my tumors in control.  I have believed this since the first day I met my gynonc in Seattle. I had already undergone optimal debulking in California but life circumstances required me to uproot and move to Seattle for my chemotherapy.  My mom, sister and her family were in Seattle.

I have full trust in God, in Jesus, but cannot say I have always trusted doctors.  Sad huh.  A freak thing happened with me in California where a nurse lied to a doctor,  claiming I had done something I hadn't.  My doctor in California dropped me.  He didn't just drop me from the clinic but elected to drop me from the entire provider network. Eight months later I had aggressive stage IIIC ovarian cancer.

God is giving me strength to mention this so that I can help you. This event from my past was absolutely traumatizing.  Left abandoned, as a woman with undiagnosed medical issues and severe rheumatoid arthritis, that doctor's actions were extreme and cruel. As patients, especially because insurance companies do not allow us the full freedom of choice, are at the mercy of the doctor and their office management.

The best example of how poorly that clinic in Calfornia was run is this: all labs, and I mean ALL labs were required to be scheduled. So if I left a medical appointment and needed a lab I would have to call and schedule it, go back to work, drive 20 minutes, then at some point in the future need another 40 minutes travel time plus lab time, to get the draw done.  I missed a lot of work and this was before cancer.  I could go on for days.  The point here is that doctors need good office managers and if the doctor does not see that policy is interfering with care, that is a red flag.

The anger from that trauma is gone and I believe in my heart that God keeps me here to raise my voice about that experience so that you, the reader, always stays aware of your surroundings. I haven't eluded to that experience in quite a long time.  

If the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, pay attention.  Be politely persistent in getting your much deserved good care.  But if that doesn't happen I hope you can run for the hills!  

Below is an empowering article written by patient advocate Trisha Torrey for About.com.  Please follow her column because she seems so truly balanced to me.  Unless you have actually been thrown under the bus by a doctor, it is probably hard to imagine these things really do happen.   She can help stear you in the right direction if you or a loved one have concerns about a healthcare provider.

http://patients.about.com/od/doctorsandproviders/fl/Among-Doctors-There-are-Way-Too-Many-Bad-Apples.htm

My heart is with those of you who are struggling to get good quality care.  May each and all of you find strength.

Peace and blessings

Denise a.k.a. 

Servivorgirl