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  • 1.  3 month follow up appointments - keeps changing

    Posted 4 hours ago

    Hello, this is my first post and question.  My name is Julie I am 55 who was diagnosed with stage 2 clear cell carcinoma. I finished my last infusion of taxol and carboplatin on Nov 12th.  I was told that I will be having 3 month checkups for 3 years. I had an appointment on Dec 19th after a CT scan that everything looks good. They made an appointment for me for April 10th.  A little under 4 months but ok.  I just got a call that it had to be rescheduled and it is now May 1st.  This will make it 4 3 weeks since my last checkup.  Is this normal? Acceptable?



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  • 2.  RE: 3 month follow up appointments - keeps changing

    Posted an hour ago

    Hello @Fredbarnie and welcome to OVdialogue. You've joined a forum with an amazing, strong group of Teal Sisters who collectively have a lot of experience related to Ovarian Cancer. I will start by saying I'm sorry for your diagnosis however it sounds like they may have caught your cancer at an earlier stage which is great. You made it through the chemotherapy which can be a challenging step for many so congratulations on that. Also, very good news that your December CT scan was good!!!

    With regard to your checkups, it's an interesting question as from my observation, there doesn't tend to be a 'normal' timeframe of follow-up care. My sense is that it is often driven by each of our individual circumstances. It's interesting that they said yours would be "3 month checkups for 3 years". I've often seen a medical team start with 2 to 3 month check-ups and if things are progressing well, they might extend that timeframe between checkups by a month or two with the goal of getting to 6 months of more between check-ups. 

    Are you on any maintenance drugs? Often if you are that will bring you back in sooner as they monitor your bloodwork fairly closely. For instance, I'm 15 months into taking Lynparza (Olaparib) and they see me every 2 months at Princess Margaret in T.O. for bloodwork monitoring. If not, are you feeling okay otherwise? Any symptoms or concerns that would drive you back sooner? 

    Ultimately, if you feel there is a need to get back in to see someone sooner then self advocate. You can always call and express your concern that the timeframe if now longer than you had been told and that is causing you some concern. 

    I'm sure some of the other Teal Sisters will weigh in with their wisdom too.

    #Supportandencouragement

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