So. MD "Effing" Anderson.
I am thoroughly unimpressed. I can't wait to be home.
First off, this place is kind of a zoo. It's all of the things I hated about U of M amplified by about a thousand. And since they get money for each test they run, they push all kinds of tests on you. And of course tests from anywhere else are not good enough for them (even though they're fine for NIH and Sloan Kettering). Then they have the doctor see you and decide what tests he wants, including simple bloodwork (which of course the doc wants when he meets you). So you have the tests run, then you see the doctor again the following week for a diagnosed course of action. Ugh. So that's why they want you here for 7-14 days.
Dr. H, supposedly THE top lymphoma doctor in the world (according to who? him?) was a huge ASSHAT.
Basically, he saw that I'd been to some other cancer centers and got pissed that I hadn't come to him first. He cut us off when we tried to speak. He said that they had no clinical trials for me for at least a month due to a shortage in Research Nurses. He was also clueless as to what trial he might put me in. One good, rather successful trial just ended, but he didn't know if, how, or where there would be any more trials involving the drug EVER. What the fuck? He did say he thought that I should go ahead and get a transplant. He mentioned that there was a guy here who did mostly hodgkin's transplants, whose office was across the hall from him, but whose name he didn't even KNOW. Ummm. Okay....
So he was a total shit, who didn't offer ANYTHING really. This was a complete waste of my time. Everything was like:
"You could do this, but well... maybe not. Your lungs might not be good enough for that, but I won't bother looking at the report that says..."
or
"In Europe, they have this, but we can't get it here yet. And really, there's very little research being done for your problem anywhere..."
When we asked him if he looked at my scans, he said that he had submitted them for reinterpretation. So he doesn't even look at them himself, which makes me very skeptical. ALL of the other doctors I have ever met took a quick look at what was actually going on for themselves. One of the few things Dr. Asshat said was that he didn't think I needed a biopsy before going into a transplant. He thinks it's clear what it is.
So I have all these tests scheduled but I think I'm going to cancel them. Seems pretty pointless because I definitely don't want to do treatment here after today. Sloan Kettering and NIH are more than capable of helping me should I need treatment elsewhere than Louisville.
When is the next flight out of here?
I called Dr LaRocca when I got out of the appointment and he laughed when I told him about Dr Asshat. He said to enjoy Texas, come home and start treatment. I'm still thinking about the guinea pig study in NYC though. I need more reading material and info on why Dr O'Connor thinks it might work on Hodgkin's.
On the way down here, all of our luggage was lost as well. We got it back at 5:30am this morning. Yuck.
Ready to come HOME, NOW!!!!!!!
First off, this place is kind of a zoo. It's all of the things I hated about U of M amplified by about a thousand. And since they get money for each test they run, they push all kinds of tests on you. And of course tests from anywhere else are not good enough for them (even though they're fine for NIH and Sloan Kettering). Then they have the doctor see you and decide what tests he wants, including simple bloodwork (which of course the doc wants when he meets you). So you have the tests run, then you see the doctor again the following week for a diagnosed course of action. Ugh. So that's why they want you here for 7-14 days.
Dr. H, supposedly THE top lymphoma doctor in the world (according to who? him?) was a huge ASSHAT.
Basically, he saw that I'd been to some other cancer centers and got pissed that I hadn't come to him first. He cut us off when we tried to speak. He said that they had no clinical trials for me for at least a month due to a shortage in Research Nurses. He was also clueless as to what trial he might put me in. One good, rather successful trial just ended, but he didn't know if, how, or where there would be any more trials involving the drug EVER. What the fuck? He did say he thought that I should go ahead and get a transplant. He mentioned that there was a guy here who did mostly hodgkin's transplants, whose office was across the hall from him, but whose name he didn't even KNOW. Ummm. Okay....
So he was a total shit, who didn't offer ANYTHING really. This was a complete waste of my time. Everything was like:
"You could do this, but well... maybe not. Your lungs might not be good enough for that, but I won't bother looking at the report that says..."
or
"In Europe, they have this, but we can't get it here yet. And really, there's very little research being done for your problem anywhere..."
When we asked him if he looked at my scans, he said that he had submitted them for reinterpretation. So he doesn't even look at them himself, which makes me very skeptical. ALL of the other doctors I have ever met took a quick look at what was actually going on for themselves. One of the few things Dr. Asshat said was that he didn't think I needed a biopsy before going into a transplant. He thinks it's clear what it is.
So I have all these tests scheduled but I think I'm going to cancel them. Seems pretty pointless because I definitely don't want to do treatment here after today. Sloan Kettering and NIH are more than capable of helping me should I need treatment elsewhere than Louisville.
When is the next flight out of here?
I called Dr LaRocca when I got out of the appointment and he laughed when I told him about Dr Asshat. He said to enjoy Texas, come home and start treatment. I'm still thinking about the guinea pig study in NYC though. I need more reading material and info on why Dr O'Connor thinks it might work on Hodgkin's.
On the way down here, all of our luggage was lost as well. We got it back at 5:30am this morning. Yuck.
Ready to come HOME, NOW!!!!!!!