I have just read the two reviews that offered a negative response to Dr. Q. Let me first say that I am the husband of a woman that had breast cancer, Stage 1, invasive ductal carcinona determined to be Negative, Negative, Positive with no lymph node involvement. We were lucky, but in terms of Dr. Q, we really weren't lucky. We had the right doctor.
My wife has been a patient of Dr. Q's at least since 2009 (her cancer was found in 2011) and each and everytime that she had a mammogram, it seemed there was another reason for Dr. Q to take a biopsy. I was tired of this as was my wife, and we had thought about finding another surgeon in October 2011 when she had a biopsy and was told another would need to be taken, this time with wire localizations at two spots. We were furious with this and consulted her OBGYN who told her to go through with it. The proceedure took far too long, even as an out patient proceedure, and by the time it was over, we had decided this would be the last time Dr. Q cut on my wife.
Eight days later we were informed that my wife had cancer. The suggested plan of treatment included chemo and a bi-lateral (suggested as best) or a single mastectomy (though cancer could be found in the other breast down the road). We had a second opinion and found the conclusions the same, so we went with Dr. Q. The treatment was just fine. At times, we waited to see him, but he was wonderful with his work. My wife underwent a nine hour operation for the bi-lateral (2 hours) and the reconstruction (7 hours). The surgery and post-op treatment was superb.
But that is not why I am writing about Dr. Q. Yes, his office in the beginning can be a bit hard to handle, and yes, if you are not a regular patient, it takes time to get to know Dr. Q, but I think I can say that about almost anyone in the medical profession. But here is what I know about Dr. Q. When my wife's first biopsy came back, it was completely negative for cancer. In other words, her medical report from the first needle biopsy was read as negative-no cancer. Dr. Q did not believe this result. His viewing of the tissue, his experience with this type of cancer told him something else, and that is why we had the localized wire biopsy done, and without Dr. Q's insistence on this, if some doctor in a practice wasn't looking properly at the tissue coming from the breast, or if some HMO would have just taken the results as they were, the cancer would not have been found for another year, and my wife, instead of having a stage one, invasive ductal carcinoma would have mostly likely had stage four with the outlook much more grim that it eventually was.
My wife and I agree that we owe her successful diagnosis and treatment to Dr. Q and Dr. Q alone. Without his insistence on the second biopsy, we would not be here today singing his praises. I know there are those who will say any doctor worth his salt will do this for a patient, but in the healthcare business today, where politics and the bottom line are so hostile to proper medical care, I have to say Dr, Q saved my wife's life, and I will always be grateful to him, and will always refer patients to him. I will tell them that it will be difficult with him at first, but his heart is in the right place, and his work is superb. And by the way, we didn't find out about the situation with the two biopsies until sometime later, after the operation was over. He did not try to explain why we needed the second biopsy. It was a total surprise when we did talk about it. Why did he not tell us this? I think it was to save us anguish and worry. It was up to him to worry about the results. He wanted them right, not just done. I appreciated that the most when he told us. I realized then, he was concerned for more than just his job. He was concerned for his patient's well being. He was concerned for my wife.
If you ever have any questions about a referal, I'd be happy to talk to you about him. My name is Jack Riggs, and Dr. Q saved my wife, Debra's life. There is nothing more or less to say about this doctor. You can find me in Facebook, and I will be happy to friend you and correspond to you regarding Dr. Q. read more