Good, I have had issues with several nurse practitioners and PA’s. The last issue I had scared the shite out of me. About a year ago, I was in Houston at MD Anderson for my normal 3 month scan and visit with my oncologist. Anyway, I was in the exam room waiting for my doctor to come in and instead a PA that I had never met came in and promptly told me that one of the tumors in my liver(that had been stable) was growing and that they had few options for me. Said that I may qualify for some clinical trials but that was about it. I know the day will come that this will be true but it ain’t yet and I knew that when she told me. I started asking her about next line chemo drugs like Lonsurf and Stivarga were still available to me and that there were other procedures like Y-90 embolization that could still keep my cancer stable. When I started asking the questions she quickly exited the room saying she needed to talk to the Doc. She came back in a few minutes later and said the Doc would be in in a few minutes to discuss my questions. So, a few minutes go by and the doc came in and promptly told me that he had discussed my case with interventional radiology and that thenDoc there felt he could ablate the tumor safely and completely. No mention of changing chemo or no further options. Apparently he had not discussed this route with the PA and she took it upon herself to “give me the bad news)

I was pissed about that turn of events but was grateful the doc was looking for solutions and not content to say oh well we are out of options. With that said, there is a PA I see from time to time that is exceptional. Very good bedside manner and very empathetic to her patients. On my next visit after the above frick up, I told this PA about the incident with the other PA and she was aghast. She told me that even if ablation had not been an option there were several avenues for treating my cancer and that I wasn’t ready for clinical trials yet.

To end this saga, let me say because the Oncologist found another way to treat my growing tumor I was able to stay on the same chemo I had been on for over a year with no further progression. Had that PA been in charge I most likely would be dead by now.

TL:DR
PA fricked up, doctor fixed her frickup and I’m still alive