What to Expect During Your First Visit
Upon receiving a referral from your physician or yourself, Radiation Oncology will make an attempt to receive previous scans, labs, tests, surgeries, treatments and any pertinent history prior to your consultation. This may require you to pick up the information from your doctor or imaging center and bring it with you to your consultation or sign a medical release form so the institution will be able to send it to us. You may be mailed a packet of information including necessary paperwork to be filled out along with an appointment date and time.
The Radiation Oncology Department is located on the 1st floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. You will be asked to check in at the front desk with one of the Patient/Visitor Coordinators. You will either turn in your paper work that had been mailed to you or asked to fill out the paperwork at this time. Please arrive at the designated appointment time, enough time has been provided to complete registration and preliminary assessment prior to the time you will actually see the physician. After your paperwork is finished you will be given a pager/coaster. You may wait in the waiting room or visit the cancer support lounge for refreshments, the education resource rooms located on the 1st or 2nd floor, or purchase a meal from the meal cart located on the 2nd floor. The pager will ring/buzz indicating that you are being called back for your appointment.
Before being placed in an exam room, a nurse will review your history form with you for completeness, take vital signs and a weight, and take any accompanying information that you may have brought with you. You will also have a picture taken to help with identification purposes. You will then be consulted by a physician and resident physician. The physician will have reviewed the requested information, obtain more information from you directly, and perform a physical examination. At the end of the consultation, the physician will either schedule more exams or be able to give you treatment options.