Susan Diaz91 said:Thanks for the advice, too... I'm actually quite drawn to that cancer center... their whole organization seems to work a bit differently...
I'll see what they say, though I've heard that when lung issues arise, they just send you over to MD Anderson, and apparently, there’s a notorious lack of coordination between the oncologists, pulmonologists, and thoracic surgeons there—as if they don't even bother working as a cohesive team.🤷 😕
Does anyone know if there's any truth to that?
I was actually recommended to Dr. Miculinić while I was there...
As for MD Anderson, I honestly don't know what to make of it. After spending three weeks at our local hospital, my dad was referred to MD Anderson under suspicion of lung cancer. They had already run several tests: a gastroscopy, colonoscopy, CT scan, and a pleural fluid biopsy. For the bronchoscopy, he was sent specifically to MD Anderson.
He spent nearly two months there undergoing a massive battery of tests, none of which pointed to a primary tumor.
The doctor was a very patient guy and quite polite, though rather man of few words. He kept saying they couldn't start any kind of treatment until the primary site was identified, but he was certain it was a tumor that had already metastasized.
Since the CT scan picked up a growth on the chest wall, the doctor "hoped" that might be the primary tumor, so they decided to surgically remove it and send it for analysis.
The analysis revealed it was just a metastasis.
In that specific instance, it seemed the cooperation between the surgeon and the pulmonologist was actually quite good.
After that, Dad was sent home for a month of post-op recovery.
Then, he was admitted back to MD Anderson, where they repeated the bronchoscopy and several other tests within a single week, only to come up empty again.
Following that, they sent him for a PET/CT and a bone scan. According to the PET/CT, it looks like the primary tumor is actually in the colon.
This whole process has been dragging on for five months now; we still don't have definitive answers, and Dad hasn't even started any actual treatment.
I'm not saying they weren't trying hard with all the testing, but it really bothers me that an oncologist wasn't involved in the process from the very beginning.
At times, we felt like the doctors were truly giving it their all, but at other moments, we couldn't help but think that this entire thing could have been handled much more efficiently and effectively.