Receiving a skin cancer diagnosis can be an emotionally harrowing experience. As a patient, you deserve a healthcare professional you can look to for answers, guidance, and treatment. Your derma-oncologist should be professional, experienced, and informative — but not forceful — when it comes to your treatment options. Their compassion, courtesy, and knowledge should help you navigate the ups and downs. The derma-oncologist you choose is a personal decision, but we recommend searching for a doctor that meets the following criteria:
Practices within Your Insurance Network
Before you begin exploring your skin cancer treatment options, you’ll want to review your insurance coverage plan and everything it covers and doesn’t cover. Search for an oncologist that participates in your insurance plan, so you can maximize your insurance coverage. You likely want to pay as little out-of-pocket as possible for treatment, and using your insurance coverage to your advantage can help you avoid steep medical bills.
High Patient Approval
It always helps to know what to expect. Patient reviews give patients the chance to openly discuss their overall experience at a doctor’s office. You can get more information on how the office staff interacts with patients, as well as the wait times and the overall environment. Reading more about people’s experiences with the doctor you plan to see can help put your mind at ease or convince you to look elsewhere, depending on what you read. Patients may give insight into how much time the doctor spent with them and whether they felt heard and understood.
Clear, Honest, & Compassionate Communicator
Everyone has different communication styles, especially when it comes to seeing a healthcare professional. Some patients err on the side of fact-based, clear-cut communication, while others prefer to tell more emotional, descriptive stories about what they’re experiencing. In any case, you want a compassionate derma-oncologist who will listen. You want them to give you the facts about skin cancer and treatment in a clear and honest way while respecting your decisions and preferences in terms of skin cancer treatment.
Has the Necessary Training, Skills, & Experience to Treat You
When choosing an oncologist, experience is an essential deciding factor. The more experience a doctor has, the better your prognosis might be. Ask direct questions to gauge their knowledge and experience. Ask how many patients they’ve treated with the same type of skin cancer you have. Also, ask how many procedures they’ve done, and how many of those procedures were successful. Ask about the complications of those procedures, and what you can expect as you move forward with treatment.
Follow up by researching the derma-oncologist. First and foremost, make sure they’re board certified and don’t have a history of malpractice claims or disciplinary actions. You can check your state’s official website to find their educational background, certifications, training hospital, and record.
Practices at a Top-Rated Hospital
The hospital in which an oncologist works will tell you a lot about the quality of the care you’ll receive. A hospital with enough staff, coordinated care, cutting-edge technology, transparent pricing, and experienced doctors will likely cause you fewer complications and headaches down the road. Also, consider the location of the hospital. Is it reasonably accessible to you? If you need to visit a few times a week for tests or procedures, can you fit the commute into your schedule?
Learn More About Your Skin Cancer Treatment Options with GentleCure
When it comes to skin cancer treatment, you have a lot of options before you, including Image-Guided SRT. Now that you know what you should look for in a skin cancer treatment provider, you hopefully feel more confident in taking your next steps. Contact our skin cancer information specialists online or by phone to learn more about Image-Guided SRT and its benefits, as well as what you should consider. We can also help you search for Image-Guided SRT locations near you.
