I am going to use an old saying in the woodworking world to describe my experience these past couple of days down at MD Anderson in Houston. As you probably know from previous blogs, Anna and I traveled down to MD Anderson on Tuesday morning to meet with a doctor on Tuesday afternoon. My mom, dad, brother, and wife were all with me in the exam room as we met with the doc. For a really neat take on that experience please see my brother's blog titled "Pride."
The doc seems good - no complaints. He actually suggested some other possible scenarios that didn't come up with my Dallas doc, providing mounting evidence that I should probably stick with MD Anderson for treatment. After me trying really hard to get some concrete solutions out of the doc and a course of action, the best he would give me is that he wants to run a few more tests. That is where the phrase "measure twice, cut once" comes into play.
He is trying to make sure he has all the information that he could possibly need before starting the attack. I understand, but frustrating. I wanted to start treatment three weeks ago. However, the nature of the tests does make me question a few things, though. Seems to me that he should be able to get this info he is searching for in one of the many plethora of tests that I have already had done. I push him on this issue and he comes back with a politically correct answer along the lines of "every lab has different standards," or "I couldn't quite see all the slides because of software compatibility issues." My brother thinks this is a polite way of him saying he doesn't trust the stuff coming from Dallas. Doctors apparently have a code that prevents them from openly criticizing another doc in front of a patient. Possibly more evidence to stick with MD Anderson.
So the next two days are spent sitting in various waiting areas of MD Anderson to get some more blood work, a chest x-ray, a chest CT scan, and a head MRI. The doc should have the results today and is supposed to call me at some point during the day to go over them with me and lay out a course of treatment. Back at home now I really hope I am at the end of the "measuring" part. Let's start cutting.
MD Anderson is a miraculous place. Yes, the waits are horribly long, the doctors come across egotistical and the atmosphere can appear depressing, but it is the absolute best cancer facility and they cure people... plain and simple. Four years ago my mother was diagnosed with an extremely rare nasal cavity cancer, for which other hospitals had no answers. After six months of extensive treatment by a team of physicians at MDA, she was released. Today, she remains cancer free! Good news stories like this exist at MD Anderson every day. I look forward to hearing another one about Josh.
ReplyDeleteIt's more than a bit disconcerting how many people I come across now that have personal experiences with MD Anderson. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for such a facility. It's just a pity there's such a strong need for it. When we went, it was busier than most airports.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Mark, your story pretty much agrees with everyone I've spoken to that has personal experiences with the place. I haven't heard one person yet who says they'd wished they'd gone somewhere else despite all the waiting, red tape, etc.