Dr. Charles Hodge, MD

Cancer is sort of a big deal, right? Here is the recent experience we have had with Dr. Hodge: We went to Dr. Hodge because my husband, who has a recent history of melanoma with metastasis, had a PET scan showing three new areas of possible metastasis. The areas were his liver, neck and the back, left side of the tongue and parotid gland. At our appointment with him, Dr. Hodge talked about the liver, seemed rushed, but answered our questions. Basically, he told us that if cancer was in the liver, there is no treatment. In order to determine if it was cancer, we had to wait about three months and have a repeat MRI to determine if the spot on the liver had changed. After explaining this, Dr. Hodge was about to end the appointment, so I asked about the other two areas. He glanced at the file and said he would order a MRI of the neck. Okay - so what about the tongue? Dr. Hodge said he would do a scope, which he did right away. Dr. Hodge started checking out the… right side of my husband's face and neck. I stopped him and said it was the left side. He look a bit sheepish and said, 'well, sometimes we find things through error,' or something to that effect. When the MRI results came in, the results went directly to Dr. Hodge. He didn't call us with the results. I finally called and spoke with his nurse (who is very nice and compassionate) and she said Dr. Hodge is out for the week and she couldn't tell me the results. I asked if there was another doctor in the office who could, and she said 'no, the radiologist doesn't want to get in the middle of anything.' What? Really? So, the doctor thinks it's not cancer and the radiologist does or v/v? I called again the next day, determined to get an answer. We were all - me, my husband, our families - waiting for an answer and frankly, we were all scared. The nurse got on the line and told me that she called Dr. Hodge and he said to tell me that the neck area was not cancerous. Ok. What about the disagreement with the radiologist? She said it wasn't about whether or not it was cancer. OK. We felt relieved, I think. There are more details about other problems, but the gist of this review is that Dr. Hodge may well be an excellent diagnostician. It is hard to trust him, however, because he didn't read my husband's entire file before our appointment and he didn't seem concerned about relieving us of the fear of the return of cancer. We are somewhat taken aback that he didn't call or have someone call us with the results of the MRI. It can be argued that if the cancer is in his liver, the rest doesn't matter. But what if it isn't in the liver and it is in the other area or areas? By writing this, I hope Dr. Hodge finds it in him to think about the whole person(s) and not just a diagnosis. I also hope that he is a good diagnostician . . .

I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer, I was sent to Dr. Hodge for an evaluation and possible Radiation Treatment. I have to say this is the Second Doctor that I actually felt comfortable with. He is very patient oriented and spends time with his patients to explain all the options to them. Unfortunately Dr. Hodge had to deliver rather bad news to me, yet his bedside manner and his approach are very commendable. I would highly recommend Dr. Hodge to anyone without hesitation.