Texas Oncology and other freestanding clinics like it that are NOT associated with hospitals have limited resources to care for patients. If, for example, you need surgery, you must get a referral to an outside surgeon and hospital for care. Because Texas Oncology is limited to medical and radiation oncologists (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation), additional care will result in delays. In my mother's case, it has been 10 months from diagnosis to the first intervention.
My mother has chronic anemia and recurrent lung cancer. We sought continuing care at the Sugar Land clinic in early 2024 after Mom finished radiation therapy in Florida. The oncologist didn't evaluate Mom for anemia until we asked several times after the first visit. We were told to find a gastroenterologist to perform a colonoscopy to determine if internal bleeding was the culprit despite providing documentation from a six-month-old colonoscopy that found no problems. No additional tests were ordered except for routine blood work, and Mom's anemia has never been addressed by Texas Oncology to this day. Her primary care physician has done more to care for her anemia than the hematologists at Texas Oncology.
Mom's lung cancer recurred in March 2024. Today, in January 2025, we actually have a date for surgery. Why has the process taken so long? Texas Oncology has no surgeons on staff, and we were told to find a surgeon on our own after Mom's oncologist left the clinic last year. There is no continuity of care at Texas Oncology. We have gone months without any communication from the clinic, despite an active cancer diagnosis and chronic anemia. Mom's new oncologist has been very tentative about planning for her disease- he has told us repeatedly that he wants to wait for the surgeon to comment on Mom's case. We have been sent out from the clinic for virtually every diagnostic test and consultation beyond simple CBCs, and this process takes more time than I ever believed possible. Add insurance approvals into the process, and here we are at 10 months out from her recurrence.
If we were not already nearly a year into Mom's (nonexistent) treatment, we would have sought another comprehensive, hospital-based oncology department for Mom's care. Once she undergoes surgery next week, we will check for clean margins and transfer surveillance care to a hospital-based oncology team. It is sheer dumb luck that her cancer hasn't metastasized. read more
