Megan Murray

Review of Fox Chase Cancer Center

My Mother was diagnosed with small cell lung cance...

My Mother was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in October 2017 at Einstein Hospital, I immediately called Foxchase to schedule an appointment and when we went to the appointment we seen Dr. Treat. He was very kind and very friendly. My mother had already had cancer all over her body before it went into her lung. So when I went to the visits with her, I had always asked where did the cancer start. But I always got the same answer, the doctor always told me it doesn't matter where the cancer started because it's already all over her body. This answer upsets me because I feel like it's our right to know where it started, I feel like it would give me some closure because my grandmother also died from cancer and I could get cancer one day. But other than that, doctor Treat was nothing but kind and he always made us feel comfortable. My mom was put on hospice in February but in the month of March her lung filled up with fluid. I had contacted Foxchase multiple times to try to get her an appointment, to get it drained. It took a lot of phone calls and two weeks to finally get my mom an appointment. We were so hopeful that if she got her lung drained she would be able to breathe better. We were trying to encourage her and make her feel strong. That would be her last appointment. When me, my sister and my dad took her to that appointment, the people that worked in that department we're so rude and disrespectful, my mother was nothing but the kindest person you would ever meet. But at this point of her illness, she was not even able to get up out of her wheelchair. She was so sick. But the women in this department we're unbelievably rude to her and to us. I asked if I could come back with her because I've seen her lung get drain before , and I knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of her wheelchair to get on to the hospital table. They told me no I couldn't come back to help her. So I respected that and sat down in the waiting room with my dad and my sister. I thought they would help her. But when she came out she was very upset. First, they drained her lung while she was in the wheelchair. They were Whispering about her as if she couldn't hear them. The staff was whispering about her saying that she's dying and they don't know why she's here to get her lung drained because it's pointless. She said that the ladies that drained her lung we're very rude to her and talked about her like she wasn't there, like she couldn't hear them. It's a shame that the staff in this department could be so rude and inconsiderate. Even though my mom was so sick, she was still the kindest person to everyone, to the point where right before she died she said thank you to the hospice workers. We were trying to be strong for her and we were trying to be hopeful that if she got her lungs drained, then it would make her feel more comfortable. Even the hospice worker said that it would make her feel more comfortable. So for this department of Foxchase to be so rude and so insensitive to such a kind person to me it's just inhumane. Its cold hearted. My advice to Foxchase is to train your staff better. Since Temple is a learning Hospital and Foxchase is a branch of Temple, you should teach these people not only how to drain a lung, but to be considerate because the people that are coming to this Hospital have a life-threatening disease, most of the time the people that you are treating are going to die. So what would it hurt to be kind and more sensitive to what people are going through? Ask yourself, What if it was you? What if it was you who had cancer? What if it was your life.
My mother lost her battle with cancer on April 6th 2018. May she rest in peace, Amen.