First Visit

At Contemporary Oncology Team we want you to benefit as much as possible from your first visit, as well as to feel comfortable and confident in the direction and quality of the care you are receiving. We provide the following clarifications that will help prepare for your visit.

Visit Scenario

• Your Oncologist

  On the first visit you will see the oncologist you requested and who will remain your attending physician throughout our cooperation.

• Your Care Team

  Medical care is a team effort and at COT we provide this care through a multi-member group of different specialties, dealing with your health. During your visit you will find:

  • The Patient Care Staff, whose job it is to assist with practical matters during your visit. It will help you in creating your medical record, will provide you with all the necessary contact information and will inform you about the privacy policy of our team.
  • Before meeting your oncologist, you may be seen by an associate physician that will take your medical history and give you a physical examination.
  • Highly trained Oncology nurses are always available to look after you during your presence in the practice and prescribe your medication and tests your oncologist has ordered. Your Nurse Navigator will guide you through the basic issues of your treatment and follow up as well as any specific education for the therapy you may be receiving.
  • The Administrator who will handle any questions you may have about insurance and financial matters.
• Length of the visit

  Our oncologists need some time to complete the initial encounter. This usually takes about an hour, but may take longer, so please plan your visit accordingly.

• Additional Tests and Scans

  Depending on the case, the oncologist may request additional laboratory tests or imaging tests that will confirm and guide medical decisions. These can be performed at a hospital or laboratory of your choice, or you can seek guidance from your oncologist.

What you need to provide

At your first visit, the oncologist will need to assess your overall health and understand your history in detail. Therefore, please bring with you all the material and information that will help us to obtain a complete medical history and thus be able to better deal with your medical problem. The following are the main documents:

• Surgical Report if any
• Pathology report of histological examination, for current and other older, even unrelated, surgeries
• File of all previous treatments for your illness, if any
• Recent imaging tests: computed tomography ( CT ), magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ), PET , ultrasound, etc.
• Recent blood tests
• Anything else you think will help the doctor who will examine you
• Other tests, even if they seem unrelated to the disease (e.g., ECG)