Oncologists who are Physicians - Birmingham, MI

"Regretfully, I was misdiagnosed by Dr. Hicks. While he appeared to be cheerful and constantly cracking jokes, it became inappropriate to a certain extent as it became obvious that he did NOT take my case seriously. I am a 33 yr. old female who was diagnosed with Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VIN) grade2/3 which is pre cancerous and does not resolve on its own, so I was sent to Dr. Hicks as a referral from my Obgyn. I was supposed to receive a call from this Oakwood clinic to schedule my appt. but I never received a call so I called them to schedule and got in as a new patient within 2 weeks. I waited for about an hour before I actually saw Dr. Hicks and prior to seeing him I heard him talking loudly to his assistant (in the hallway) about other patients care and what the assistant should have done in said situation. It seemed a little unprofessional but I didn't think much of it. Dr. Hicks assistant came in prior to me meeting him and she seemed nice enough but in hindsight, she didn't know too much as she also also ave me wrong information. She asked me some questions and also did an examination, just visual. I asked about a colposcopy (it seemed relevant) but she said it was up to the Doctor. I showed her my VIN bumps (on vulvar area) and also showed her another area which looked like dyslplasia to me but she remarked that it was probably nothing and looked like a pimple. I'm not sure what the point of her exam was as it rendered no useful information. The Doctor was not present and had to do his own exam again anyway.. My mother was with me in the room when Dr. Hicks came in. He was laughing and telling jokes the whole time which eased my anxiety and was fine at first, but then I got the impression he didn't take too much seriously so I became somewhat uncomfortable. He did a QUICK exam and did not take a biospy, a picture, refused to do a colpscopy, didn't really ask me any questions, etc. When I asked him what if my VIN is INSIDE of me (I had a feeling it could've spread) he said "you worry too much, what if the sky falls"? he made me feel as if I was fretting about something that was nbd. He even remarked to my mother how VIN wasn't that serious (pre cancer) and said "in a cancer world, my case was a minus 5" thus solidifying that he was not taking me seriously. He told me that doing a colposcopy was painful and wouldn't solve anything when infact, a colposcopy can determine if you have cancer or pre cancer INSIDE of you so it seems very useful. I already had a DX of HPV+ and had it for who knows how many years (untreated) so to me, the likelihood that the VIN had spread elsewhere seemed pretty conceivable. I wasn't really given any treatment options. Luckily, I am educated and intelligent and have done my DD so I knew what to ask. I inquired about Aldara, the immunoquid cream which is used to treat HPV warts and VIN. Dr Hicks said it's too painful and he does not prescribe it but he could send an RX to my referring Doctor who could prescribe it. It felt like he didn't really care about treating me as I kept having to probe as to what my options were. I asked about laser ablation (he did not offer) and he said that yes, he does that but he doesn't think it's necessary for me at this time. Dr. Hicks approach was a "watch and wait" method which I find strange. Who wants to watch and wait to see if they develop cancer?? Not me. I told him I didn't really feel comfortable waiting 6 more mos. to do anything about this issue and it really burns when I go to the bathroom and since I do have anxiety I am just going to worry about the bumps. He told me "yeah, I can do the laser if you want" but his heart didn't seem in it. I felt lost and wasn't given much direction and his approach was very passive. I felt upset when I left the office because my gut told me somethings not right. I decided I wanted a second opinion and someone who was a little more serious and aggressive with my treatment. I immediately called U of M and got ahold of the U of M Obstetrics & Gynecology dept. at the Von Voigtlander Hospital. It was a bit of hassle at first (big place) trying to figure out WHOM I would see or what department, but eventually, I was routed to a very nice woman on the phone who knew exactly who I needed to see. She recommended a man named Dr. Anthony W. Opipari who was a leading specialist for colposcopies and also in treating VIN and other related disorders. I was able to get in as a first time patient within a few weeks. COMING HERE WAS A GODSEND. Dr. Opipari was a very relaxed humble man with an understated confidence and also serious in his approach but had excellent bed side manners. I felt at ease and confident he knew what he was doing and I have bad anxiety. He did the examination that Dr. Hicks failed to do. It was THOROUGH and lasted quite awhile. he gave me choices and options, yet was not aggressive about it. At one point he even handed me a mirror and used his light and told me to point out the areas where I thought I saw dysplasia and he would investigate further. I pointed to the area which Michael hicks and his assistant told me was a "pimple" and Dr. Opipari examined it and believes it to be more VIN. He biopsied it to determine the grade and also to know whether it's malignant, or not. Unlike Dr. Hicks he did a colpscopy and it was NOT painful despite what Dr. Hicks said and thank god I had it done. Yes it was uncomfortable but no more than a pelvic exam or pap smear. It's also a good idea to get this done for women with similar issues. Do not listen to Dr. Hicks if he tells you that do not need one. Get one done, even if you have to see a different doctor. After completing the colpscopy which took about 20 minutes, Dr. Opipari told me that he found 2 more suspicious areas which he biopsied to check malignancy status and I currently await those results. One area was rather large and on the cervix (pap smears all normal) and another area in the vagina. One could be an HPV related wart but I will know soon. The other area I found myself on the outside and it most likely also VIN. DR. Opipari was very reassuring that we would tackle this and recommended Aldara and said that the success rate in younger people has been very good. I told him my concerns about it being painful and possibly burning my skin and he said that we do not have to use it but if my VIN is limited (uni focal) to one area the Aldara cream would be his recommendation in lieu of surgery. IF my VIN is also inside, obviously, that has to be surgically removed anyway so the cream would be superfluous. Dr. Opipari recommended that I come back in a week to get my biospy results and we discuss our treatment options at that time. He was very methodical in what he said and I felt like that was a well thought out plan because he knew that I was already anxious and he was a new Dr. to me so next time, I would be in a better frame of mind. DR. Hicks was brash. loud, very outspoken and made inappropriate comments. Dr. Opipari also said he saw "no reason to wait 6 months" (as I suspected) because VIN does NOT go away on its own. he said that there is a less than 10% chance it will improve spontaneously but a 90% chance that 6 months from now it will be worse and bigger. What Dr. Hicks was thinking when he said lets wait 6 months to see what happens, is beyond me but it seems like he's playing with fire. What if I went on to develop cancer in 6 more months and Dr. Hicks is the last person I saw? Couldn't that all have been avoided? Very disappointed but THANKFUL I found Dr. Opipari at U of M. I feel I am on the right track. I cannot speak about people who HAVE cancer and see Dr. Michael Hicks, perhaps he does take them more seriously. However, if you have anything similar to what I described and you value your health I would skip this Doctor or at least get a second opinion. I feel like I am in good hands now :) "