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The postman only rang once ...


KathieB

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Three years ago, on May 11, 2005, Lloyd had a colonoscopy in New Orleans. We heard nothing from the doctor, so figured all is okay. Then Katrina. Now we're in Missouri. Yesterday he got a letter from the doctor dated May 11, 2005, mailed on May 1, 2008, to our NO address. The post office forwarded it. I don't know why; they haven't been forwarding anything else.

The letter said to call for a follow-up appointment. He called to find out what it was all about. After finally convincing the receptionist that he was NOT going to schedule a follow-up a two-day drive away from home and only wanted to know why they were requesting a follow-up, the nurse told him they'd found a cancerous polyp. THREE YEARS LATER THEY TELL HIM THIS???? No apology. No explanation. No laying this one on Katrina -- the test was 3 months before Katrina. Just a "well, you'll have to send a written request to have your records transferred" and *click*.

So ... within minutes I faxed a request to the medical records department to send the report to our local doctor. And now we wait. We're hoping and praying that there was just one nasty polyp and that when they removed it they got it all, but the alternative really is terrifying. Needless to say, we are both rattled.

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OMG I can't believe this has happned to you and your husband. Three years later is just too much, god forbid if something is really serious I would talk to a lawyer.

My prayers are with you and your family.

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That is just awful! Was it actually mailed late or had it been lost in the mail? Hopefully, the dr. will get everything scheduled and worked out to a good outcome. I will be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

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Kathie you and Lloyd have more prayers coming your way. What is with these doctors these days? I'm so sorry you have to wait and worry.

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It may not have been the doctor - they could have mailed that letter out in 2005 and had it returned for who knows what reason by the post office. I used to do returned mail at my bank and you would not believe the reasons they gave for returning mail - likewise, you'd never believe how many months sometimes it took for us to get the returned mail back! The doctor's office may have a policy of keeping returned mail and maybe they finally found your new address and decided to try mailing it again.

The receptionist should never have been that rude to you though. It's a good thing that wasn't me because I have a big mouth these days and when it comes to stuff like that, I don't always keep it closed!

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Kathie, prayers and hopes are coming your way! This is terrible news, but hopefully perhaps something can be done for it. Please keep us informed.

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O, Kathie I'm so sorry, and will keep my fingers crossed too. I'm so happy that I lived in the Netherlands. In this case, here they call your local doctor with the news and he informed you, they also sent out the letter to converm but one to you and one to your local doctor.

I truly didn't understand why, when there was no response of your side, they didn't call you, with or without a missing letter. It's to serious to let go.

Wish you and Lloyd strenght and wisdom.

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Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.

I just got off the phone with our doctor. He received the medical report from New Orleans this morning. He says that according to the surgeon's report, they took just one polyp. According to the pathologist's report, it was inflamed, but NOT YET cancerous. Our doc says in cases like this they usually want to do a follow-up in a couple of years. He has schedule one for May 19.

<breathing small sigh of relief>

It's possible that instead of telling us what the outcome was three years ago, they just put it into the computer system for a notice in three years. The letter we got was computer generated. It's possible we were never meant to get it until last week.

That still doesn't excuse the receptionist and nurse for 1) arguing about him coming in and and 2) dropping the cancer bomb on us. What did she think, that she was going to scare him into making the appointment? That nurse is lucky that my arms aren't a few hundred miles long or she'd be looking for pretty scarves to cover up the bruises on her neck.

The colonoscopy itself is going to be troublesome because Lloyd's on coumadin/warfarin because of a heart valve, so he needs to be weaned off and switched to heparin and then switched back after the procedure. Last time this was done (for a different test a year or so ago), I had to give him a series of injections in his stomach for a week afterward. That wasn't fun for either of us. I hope modern medicine has come up with a better plan.

Thank you all again for your prayers and caring words. :groucho:

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Oh I'm so glad to hear that it wasn't cancerous 3 years ago! Still will have my fingers crossed for his test though. Sadly heparin still comes in injections.

All the best to you both.

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That's inexcusable. The doctor's office should have sent a letter explaining that there was an inflamed polyp and that it should be followed up in 2 years. Perhaps it got lost? Maybe.

On the other hand, any report that is not normal should be followed-up with a phone call from at least a nurse to explain the situation.

I smell poor office management! I ran my ex's medical office for 10 years, then spent 10 more years working in doctors offices....some had very poor management. Unfortunately, the doctors never know unless the patients complain directly to THEM!

Anytime anyone has an unpleasant experience with a staff member, complain to the DOCTOR...not a manager....directly to the DOCTOR. Nine times out of ten, he will address the situation...he doesn't want rude and incompetent employees in his office...but he doesn't know about them unless the patients tell him.

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