Gynecological Oncologist
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
Health & Medical >
ObGyns >
Gynecological Oncologist
June 2007
Does anyone have a recommendation for a very conservative gyn oncologist who is familiar
with endometriosis? thanks
If you are looking for a gynecological oncological surgeon, I highly recommend Dr. Jenta
Shen in San Francisco. I don't know if he is specifically expert in endometriosis, but he
is a wonderful physician. On the flip side, I strongly recommend against going to Dr.
Larry Strieff, an oncologist in Oakland. He is a nice enough guy, but his staff is
uncaring, unresponsive and unhelpful.
Strieff's nursing staff never returned calls. When I
was in the middle of chemo and was suffering bad side
affects and had questions that needed answering right
away, they didn't call back even though the answering
machine message said they would return all calls on
the same day. I had to call the receptionist and ask
her to ask the nurses to call me back.
The nursing staff did not check my vitals when I came
in for chemo. I think they performed visual checks
only.
The nursing staff did not help me deal with side
affects of chemo. I called to reschedule chemo
because I was having a bad side affect (diarrhea).
When I called they just said "sure, we'll move it to
Wednesday." They should have asked me how severe the
condition was, what medication I was taking, and
discussed what I could do to alleviate the problem.
They didn't even ask me how I was feeling.
I only realized the degree to which Strieff's staff
was not doing its job when I moved to another
oncologist whose nursing staff was amazing, proactive,
caring, and nurturing.
anon
I just read the comments about Dr. Larry Strief and his office. I too was
treated there for chemo, and had a different experience than the poster. I
found the chemo nursing staff caring and concerned. I too had diarhhea, and
when I called they immediately provided me with a protocol. One time I left
the office only to make it as far as the bathroom on their office floor to
vomit. When I went back to tell them they immediately sat me down and looked
after me. One time when I mentioned that I had excessive menstrual bleeding
they took my red blood cell count, when normally they only took my white
blood cell count, which they did every time. They also frequently tried to
give me a private room for chemo, because they knew I tried to work through
the session. That said, I felt I got better care and follow-up from them than
from Dr. Strieff himself. So if the poster commenting about Dr. Strieff could
please post me separately with the name of your ''new'' oncologist I would
appreciate it, just in case I have a future need. LRegberg@aol.com
Anon
I would like to add one more comment regarding my comments about Dr. Strieff
and his office (from LRegberg@aol.com). Dr. Strieff did do one very wonderful
thing for me, which is he referred me to a geneticist at UCSF because of his
suspicion there was a genetic basis to my cancer. He was spot on, and this
referral resulted in extensive health-insurance funded tumor and blood
testing and probable life-saving prophylactic surgery for me. So while I
didn't necessarily feel I got the most comprehensive care from him (mostly,
all the follow-up is left to me, to be proactive, and I sometimes wonder if
more can be done for monitoring purposes), I did get the most medically
appropriate care. I still have many cancer risks I can't do anything about
due to my genetic predisposition, which is why I would like the name of the
prior poster's ''new'' oncologist, because I figure I am by no means done
with the need for oncological services.
LR, aka Anon
Dec 2005
I’m looking for a recommendation for a gynecological oncologist
to consult. I’d also like to speak to other women in my
situation.
I have ovarian cancer, I’m almost done with chemo, and I would
like to speak to a gynecological oncologist about the decisions
I have to make now. I have gotten input from my current
gyn/onc and would like to speak to another expert to get
another perspective. If you have a doc you especially like or
respect, please let me know.
I would also like to speak to other women with ovarian cancer
about how they reached their treatment decision when chemo was
over.
Thank you very much.
R.
Lee-May Chen at UCSF operated on me (along with Laurie Green,
who's mainly an OB) when I had ovarian tumors last year.
Because they ended up not being cancerous I didn't have much
continued contact with her, just a few meetings, but she was
incredibly informative, patient, and relaxing to talk with.
I think this is still her number: (415) 353-9600.
Good luck finding someone and all the best with the next stages
of your treatment.
Anon
this page was last updated: Nov 9, 2008
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network