Oh she’s already done the chemo, the radiation. It’s really a shame. She says she just can’t do that anymore.
That's sad.
I go to MD Anderson every six months for a follow-up check. Been going since May 2014. I always talk with as many people/patients as I can when I go. My top question of them is, what brought them there?
I would say that 75% of them say that the diagnosis, which is a critical first step, was either not correct or sub-par, which leads to a treatment that may be the same (or worse).
By the way, that was my personal experience at a so-called large regional center, too, before I first went to MDA.
Cancer is not a simple disease. While I have a rare form of blood cancer, there are unique characteristics that can be found in state-of-the-art centers that drive the type of treatment. Sometimes, in a top center, the onc doc can confer with the researchers in-house with novel options.
Once you start down the path with treatment, it is difficult to change from that type of treatment. That subpar treatment plan can impact your next treatment -- if you make it.
That's why I tell all my friends that will listen who have ANY form of cancer to take a little time and seek a second opinion from one of the top 10 centers.
It may just be the difference between living a good life and not.