Among the many challenges that cancer patients have to face in their daily life is finding the best oncologist for their treatment. One really good choice is to ask your community members, your colleagues, and your family about recommendations but at the end of the day, it’s YOU, who has to decide who might be the best choice for you in your condition. In India you will find a pool of cancer specialists who specialize in treating various types of cancers. Most of these oncologists study abroad and practise in India, thus you can expect qualified and experienced cancer specialists in most of the cancer hospitals.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
But, let’s first talk about what your insurance provider can do in such a case. Insurance plans often restrict the patients to stick to a couple of oncologists that are in their approved plans or offer financial compensations to use the plan allied oncologists. One must really look into their insurance plan to first think whether the insurance plan affiliated oncologist can really treat you the way you need to be treated or not.
LET’s MOVE BACK TO SQUARE ONE
Now, if you are not okay with going with the plan and need to be extra careful we have something to offer you. The place where you had your medical exam and was diagnosed with cancer must have referred you to an Oncologist. You have to keep in mind that the Oncologist you are choosing will influence each and everything in your medical life and health care so you need to be sure about your decision.
TIME TO DO SOME DIGGING
There are many s that practice in university hospitals, cancer care centers, basic health units and also have their local offices. There are also some online health portals like CrediHealth, Medmonks, Lyfboat etc. that provide help online for appointment booking and consultation. On health portals like www.clinicspots.com you can also post cancer related queries which are answered by medical experts and doctors. Keeping things short, here are some tips that might help you in finding the best
- First, look for the oncologist who has the ability to treat the specific kind of cancer that you have. It might be the case that you have to work with more than one kind of.
- According to your treatment plan, you may need surgical, radiation or medical care.
- Run a background check to find out whether your health plan covers the kind of cancer and treatment plan that you want?
- There are a number of insurance plans that let their plan members look up oncologists by their names or speciality in the medical field. The office staff of oncologists can always tell you what kind of insurance plans and what company do they accept.
- Talking to the recovered patients, friends and family or your primary health care oncologist might suffice the need. In that case, you don’t have to stress yourself more.
- Ask questions to the people who received the treatment about their experience with their oncologist.
- Evaluate the oncologist’s credentials on your own too. It is not like you are buying a hoodie or making plans for vacations. You need to receive the medical attention that you really deserve, so make sure that that the oncologist has received any advanced training in the field. Double-check if he/she is a board-certified or not. The purpose of all this research is to confirm that the person you are trusting your life with can live up to your expectations or not.
- Moreover, find out how many years since the oncologist started practising. How many patients did he help recover?
- Now if you are looking for a rare type of cancer or you need special kind of treatment it is really important to find those oncologists who are really experienced in their field.
- You should really be focused on finding out whether oncologist participates in clinical trials (funded research towards cancer care). Clinical trials are actually funded or non-funded projects (research) that are focused on curing cancer.
- Keep in mind to check out whether the office has support staff i.e. a registered nurse, pharmacist, ward boy or just the receptionist and the janitor. This might give you the slightest image of the kind of treatment that you might get.
- Ask everyone at the oncologist’s office about how they will be involved in your treatment because every box needs to be checked.
- Discover how to reach oncologists at off hours, including weekends and public holidays
- Frankly ask about the treatment centers. Emphasize on asking about whether people receive their treatment in the office or at a remote location somewhere else
- It might be of slightest importance as you have to make the biggest choice of your life but have a lock on their special services for the patients. These special treatments might contain reserved parking spaces for the patients or discounts in the parking fees.
A HEALTHY RECOVERY AWAITS!
After you make sure that you have made your decision book an appointment with the office. It might be noted that you must feel comfortable with the oncologist and the support staff. You must answer their every question honestly, as it will help you in your speedy recovery.