GET TO BEST PLACE, NOW!!
Are you in the best place for treatment of your type of cancer?
Let me be very clear, this isn’t a plug for Johns Hopkins. I’m asking a very real question because recently I’ve met cancer patients who have come from places where their doctors should have stepped-up and said, “Look, I don’t see this kind of cancer that often, you need to go someplace that does.”
In this country, we’re lucky to have many cancer centers that do great work against this disease. Some, it seems, do better with certain types of cancer than others. They can save lives with cutting edge treatment. They can give better quality of life to those they can’t save and many have clinical trials available that allow a patient to pay it forward and help research take the next step for the next person coming through the door.
But so often, that doesn’t happen, or if it does, it happens too late and by the time a patient gets to a cancer center for a second opinion, or advanced procedures, the disease has moved beyond the place where help can be given.
This beast waits for no one.
I know, there are a lot of reasons the suggestion of a different place for treatment, doesn’t happen. Some of it is the doctor’s responsibility and some of it falls on the shoulders of the patient and else where. It’s just so frustrating to meet cancer victims who could have been treated differently and more effectively, had they been referred some where else, sooner.
So, I guess it comes down to asking. “Am I in the best place for treatment?”
I always say, knowledge is power in cancer world and that certainly applies in this case.
June 21, 2011 @ 5:10 pm
I believe one of the most admirable traits in a physician is when they know and admit their limitations and refer a patient to someone more knowledgeable. When Jim had a heart attack at 35, our family physician told me that he nor our local hospital had the equipment and knowledge to best treat him and moved him to a larger facility into the care of a superior cardiologist. I knew at that point he was the best physician we could be going to on a regular basis. I’ve heard good and bad stories like this..thank God more good than not.
June 21, 2011 @ 4:45 pm
I saw agree with both of you, Laurie and Al. When I was very young, I worked at a tumor clinic in Philadelphia. I was always devastated when I found a new patient who had gone from doctor, to doctor, to doctor without finding help until, eventually, they ended up with us….too late. Of course back then (1956) there were not as many cures and surgery was very radical….especially with “my” doctor. But even then, if they found it earlier, they did not have to have such extensive surgery (often very disfiguring…it was a head and neck clinic) and had a better quality to the life that remained.
Bill and I are both so grateful for the young GI doctor who treated Bill for his symptoms. It was during the period that I was caretaking for our daughter and could not be there for him. He was losing a lot of weight and having other symptoms that his family doctor was not able to determine the cause. Even this young GI doctor had to do many, many tests before he tried one last procedure. Bill’s cancer was in the bile duct and the doctor was able to slip through a little pouch while doing an endoscopiic procedure and could see the area and recognized the cancer. Our daughter had entered Hospice the day before while I went with Bill for the procedure and his doctor felt so bad about the diagnosis. I was so impressed when he said that he would need to be referred to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL because no one down in our area had the expertise or the experience with the Whipple procedure which would be required for Bill’s situation. Despite the wonderful care that we received at Moffitt and our wonderful surgeon, we still feel that it was this young doctor who saved Bill’s life. He refused to let pride or feelings get in the way of what he knew Bill needed.
June 21, 2011 @ 4:08 pm
Laurie, you are so right!!!!! As we all know, there are hundreds of thousands of newly diagnosed patients each year who are shocked, devastated, uneducated about cancer and cancer centers, and are often “just accepting” of their fate. Many are from small towns across the USA where the local doctor is their contact with the healthcare system. Many implicitly trust the local doctor even when they shouldn’t at this time. Many have very limited means often no health insurance so they go along with the local doctor until it is too late and they pass away. Could they have been given a longer life, perhaps a few more months or even years at a place like Hopkins, MD Anderson, etc.? I don’t know the answer for sure but my gut says, probably!
My experience with a cousin who was from a very small Georgia town. Had some problems and his local doctor sent him to a larger hospital in Tallahassee, Fl for a diagnosis. The doctors there were able to say that he had a tumor in his brain but didn’t know it type, didn’t know if had spread, etc. When I found out about his situation, I called him in the hospital and suggested that he checkout of there as soon as possible and then get to Emory Hospital in Atlanta. They have all of the diagnostic equipment plus sophisticated radiation equipment as well. He did so and came to Atlanta. They confirmed a tumor that was accessible and another one that was not. They operated on him and removed the one tumor. It was glioblastoma. Well you know the rest of the story. He lived about 6 months. In his case with this type of cancer and the fact that it had spread would not have extended his life even had he come to Emory sooner or to Hopkins or any other top notch cancer center. Part of my point is that in small towns, patients depend upon the local doctor. Some of the docs don’t seem ready to recommend a hospital like Emory but try to keep it local. In the cancer war, all docs should bring out the sophisticated diagnostic tools and treatment weapons and recognize their limitations at a local level. They need to take action sooner rather than later and send their patients to the cancer centers to help improve the odds.