2nd Blood work after breast cancer remission... reason to worry?
October 27, 2015 2:29 PM Subscribe
My Mom is in remission for breast cancer which was diagnosed late last year. She's been in remission since this spring, and has been doing well. She had blood tests done on Friday for the first time since chemo, and was told by her doctor yesterday that "everything looks good." BUT she just got a letter today from the head oncologist asking for more blood work. It's too late to call the office to ask questions, and she is understandably worried. Has anyone been in this situation before? How did it turn out?
She had a few other tests that all turned out to be normal. And I stated in the question, her regular cancer doc told her that everything looked fine yesterday... so she was quite shocked to receive the letter asking for more blood work.
I'm not asking for medical advice - I guess I'm just hoping that other people who are in remission have had callbacks for blood work that have turned out to be nothing. For anyone with any kind of medical knowledge or experience in this situation: What is the significance of a second test? Why call her back if she was told just yesterday that her blood work was fine?
She had a few other tests that all turned out to be normal. And I stated in the question, her regular cancer doc told her that everything looked fine yesterday... so she was quite shocked to receive the letter asking for more blood work.
I'm not asking for medical advice - I guess I'm just hoping that other people who are in remission have had callbacks for blood work that have turned out to be nothing. For anyone with any kind of medical knowledge or experience in this situation: What is the significance of a second test? Why call her back if she was told just yesterday that her blood work was fine?
Well the first thing I'd think of is just crossed wires between the specialists - Doc B didn't get the results from Doc A and thinks "well this woman needs bloodwork!" not knowing it's already been done. Especially if it's via letter, it may just be a misunderstanding.
Second thought would be they want to do a different test that the first panel didn't cover - while they might have had enough blood in the right type of tube, maybe one test Doc B wanted wasn't ordered on the Doc A lab sheet.
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Give Doc B's secretary a call to make sure they're not just repeating tests that were already done if you know the tests that were done, or ask Doc A's secretary to be in contact with Doc B to confirm further tests are needed.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 3:12 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Second thought would be they want to do a different test that the first panel didn't cover - while they might have had enough blood in the right type of tube, maybe one test Doc B wanted wasn't ordered on the Doc A lab sheet.
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Give Doc B's secretary a call to make sure they're not just repeating tests that were already done if you know the tests that were done, or ask Doc A's secretary to be in contact with Doc B to confirm further tests are needed.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 3:12 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
If she heard from her doctor yesterday, but got a letter today, the letter was probably mailed before her doctor got the results, right? Are they different doctors?
It could be any of a number of logistical issues rather than anything medical. I had labs drawn yesterday morning, my doctor had some of the results by mid-afternoon, the rest by 5:30, and they didn't show up on my online account until noon today.
I wouldn't worry about it tonight. Call tomorrow and they'll probably tell you you're fine and don't actually need more blood drawn.
posted by WasabiFlux at 4:44 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
It could be any of a number of logistical issues rather than anything medical. I had labs drawn yesterday morning, my doctor had some of the results by mid-afternoon, the rest by 5:30, and they didn't show up on my online account until noon today.
I wouldn't worry about it tonight. Call tomorrow and they'll probably tell you you're fine and don't actually need more blood drawn.
posted by WasabiFlux at 4:44 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I look at it this way: If it was really serious or time sensitive, they would call you not send you a letter via USPS.
posted by AugustWest at 4:51 PM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by AugustWest at 4:51 PM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
She can call and confirm, but I'd operate on the theory that an automatic appointment reminders system fired before the bloodwork came back. I get postcards pretty often reminding me it's time for my ob/gyn or dentist checkups a couple of days after I've had those appointments.
posted by Andrhia at 5:39 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Andrhia at 5:39 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I once had a full STI panel + tests for iron, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Went and got my results later that week and got told everything was fine. About a week later I got a letter saying that I needed to get in touch with them about test results. I panicked, thinking of the worst case scenario and raced into the practice first thing the next morning. After all that worry the issue was that my vitamin D levels were actually a bit too low. The doctor hadn't been worried about it (they were still within normal range, I think), so hadn't mentioned it at my follow up appointment. The letter had just been mailed automatically. So I would try not to worry about this. It's much more likely that the letter was sent due to a clerical error or miscommunication or something like that.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 11:12 PM on October 27, 2015
posted by kinddieserzeit at 11:12 PM on October 27, 2015
Agreed with AugustWest - if this were something truly urgent, there is no way they would rely on US mail and simply wait for you to receive the letter. My best bet would be on crossed wires between the doctor and the communications/mail department.
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:41 AM on October 28, 2015
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:41 AM on October 28, 2015
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posted by fluffy battle kitten at 3:08 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]