How to Choose the Best Mesothelioma Doctor For You
One of the most important concerns when choosing a doctor is finding one you can trust completely. You will want to evaluate the doctor’s expertise and decide if you trust their approach.
- Level of Experience: Find a doctor you can trust and communicate with clearly. Consider their experience with mesothelioma and credentials. It’s OK to ask how many mesothelioma cases they have seen and how many years they’ve been in practice. They should also be able to tell you what types of new treatment options are available.
- Physician Specialty: Make sure the doctor works in a multidisciplinary fashion, meaning the mesothelioma surgeon and mesothelioma medical oncologist work together as a team in the same hospital. The best mesothelioma doctor is one who has several years of experience with your type of mesothelioma, whether it’s pleural, peritoneal or otherwise.
- Physician Availability: Check with the physician’s office if they are accepting new patients and when you can schedule an appointment. Many doctors with limited office hours or long wait lists do not have the accessibility you may want in a new physician. Consider mapping the distance to the office ahead of time to estimate travel time.
- Clinical Research Trials: Evaluate the cancer center and the treatment options they offer. Ask if they offer mesothelioma clinical trials and what the enrollment process is like. You may want to compare available trials with other treatment centers.
- Cost of Services: Learn which mesothelioma doctors are covered by your insurance plan. Verify with the office that the doctor you will be seeing is accepting your specific insurance plan. You can also ask for documentation of the costs for services you will likely receive.
- Location: The mesothelioma doctor you choose should be at a cancer center you can reliably visit. The mesothelioma cancer center shouldn’t be too far away that it creates a financial, physical or emotional burden on you or your family when you need to travel for treatment.
Specialists should also encourage patients to seek second opinions from other mesothelioma doctors. A mesothelioma second opinion allows patients to consider other treatment options and access different clinical trials for mesothelioma that may not be available at their first choice.
What to Expect During the Initial Appointment
Coming prepared to your first appointment will help you make the most of the time you have with your doctor. You don’t have to decide on anything that day, but you do want to begin treatment as soon as possible.
- Detailed summary of your medical and work history, including any possible exposure to asbestos in the workplace.
- Hard copy of your medical records and a CD of your recent scans.
- Timeline describing your symptoms and when they developed.
- List of medications you take, including prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines.
- Questions you have about your diagnosis, treatment, clinical trials and recovery.
At the initial appointment, you can expect the doctor or team of doctors to discuss the details of your diagnosis, medical and work history and treatment options.
The mesothelioma doctor may go over test results with you, such as imaging scans that show tumor location and pathology reports that detail tumor cell types.