Clinics or Hospitals

Lee Christensen

After recently joining this forum I have been reading a lot of the posts. I would like to know how or where I would go to find out where the best clinics or hospitals are in my area.
I'm located in Northern Wisconsin, and am especially interested in the MIE if I qualify, but would have to know where to go.
Will find out soon what stage I have, seeing it's only been 1 week since I was told of my diagnosis.

Unknown

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Lee Christensen

unknown said:

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William, this is what I know
William, this is what I know to date, I was diagnosed with EC on Nov 19,2010. I was in the process of eliminating a blockage because of chest pains, but found this instead. It was from a EGD test that I had done on the 17th.

My Drs. name is Dr. O. Halaweh, at the Aurora Health Care in Marinette, Wi, he is my Oncologist. The procedure that I have had are as follows:
EGD, CT scan, PET scan and am scheduled for a EGD with ultrasound on Monday.
We meet with a Cardiothoracic surgeon on wednesday his name is: Dr. Alexander Roitstein. Wasn't impressed with the way he described my surgery to us, (his exact words were "he was going to gut me like a deer"). Made me feel like running. He is with Baycare Clinic LLP in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
My cancer I am told so far is the lower one, and early results from a nurse is that the PET scan shows no other hot spots.
If you could find a clinic or hospital in my area it would be great, and better yet a capable MIE surgeon also.
I have read alot and learned alot on this site. Learned some questions that I need to ask and get answers for. For this I THANK YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE HERE.

paul61

I would really recommend you consider going to Pittsburgh
________________________________________
James D. Luketich, M.D., Program Director
200 Lothrop Street
Suite C-800
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
United States
1 412 647-7555 Appointment
1 412 647-3007 (Fax)
luketichjd@upmc.edu
www.thoracicsurgery.medicine.pitt.edu

Lee,

I would really recommend you consider traveling to Pittsburgh to see Dr. Luketich.

When I was originally diagnosed, I was in a state of shock, and blindly followed what my current doctors suggested I do. I think most cancer patients find themselves in this situation, shocked, frightened, and they just want to get things fixed as quick as possible before it spreads some more.

I had an Ivor Lewis procedure. This was the typical surgery for lower esophageal cancer until recently. It is a highly invasive surgery that requires large incisions in the abdomen and back. Full recovery can take from 12 to 18 months.

If I had been aware of the availability of a laparoscopic minimally invasive surgical approach I certainly would have taken that approach. The recovery time is much shorter and the pain and discomfort is much less with an MIE. Dr. Luketich (contact information above) is the recognized expert in this surgery.

I know you want to stay close to home to spare your family having to travel and be out of town while you are in the hospital. But consider the impact on your family of helping you through recovery of a highly invasive surgery like Ivor Lewis vs. a minimally invasive approach like Dr. Luketich does.

I would suggest once you have your EUS completed; send the results of all tests gathered so far to Dr. Luketich and give yourself and your family the best chance of success in dealing with this issue.

By the way, I am a Corvette fan as well, I have a 2003 and a 1995. Hope you will be back to enjoying yours in a very short time.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

cdobb

I would 3rd that for
I would 3rd that for Pittsburgh, I have heard only good things about Dr. Luketich. My Surgeon was Dr. Jobe at UPMC, he has pioneered some surgerys as well. He was on 60 Minutes about a year or so ago, you can find it by searching Youtube for Growing Body Parts. I was not able to have that particular surgery, but he spent about 11 hours doing a minimal invasive surgery on me (due to my size). I am from VA, so it was quite a decision and an insurance fight to chose this Dr. My thoughts are with you as you look for the right Dr. for you.

Bobs1wife

Hello Lee
I remember so clearly when we are exactly where you are now. It was overwhelming! This is a great place for support and information. Many have already been where you are heading. You are fortunate to have found this site early on and will receive so much help. If in doubt you can just ask and someone has probably had the same issue, or question.

The advise you have received regarding treatment and surgery has been top notch. You absolutely need a cancer center and a very skilled, and if possible, a doctor that does the MIE. The more surgeries the doctor does for esophageal cancer the better.

My husband was dx March 31st. Chemo/radiation, followed by surgery on August 16th with Dr. Wigle, Mayo Clinic, Rochester. His surgery was a robotic assisted, MIE, Ivor Lewis. The MIE is a much longer surgery, than the regular Ivor Lewis, but as our doctor explained it is well worth his extra time for your recovery to go so much better.

My husband, Bob, is doing well. He just had his first CT scan, 3 months post op, and there was no cancer seen. He was originaly diagnosed as T3N1M0. He had 27 lymph nodes removed with only one near the stomach showing scattered cancer cells. He will be starting on post op chemotherapy on Dec 7.

If you have to travel from home to get treatment at a major center, or with a doctor knowledgeable in esophageal cancer, it is so worth the trouble and extra effort. We went out of state for surgery and would do it all over again, without hesitation.

We had a couple of doctors that we didn't care for. I can see NO reason for a doctor to ever talk to a patient the way you were talked to in describing the surgery. We thought a couple of ours had no bedside manner to say the least, but yours beats them, hands down. If you do have the MIE you will have a pleasant surprise that so much can be done with such tiny incisions. Linda

linda1120

Lee Christensen said:

William, this is what I know
William, this is what I know to date, I was diagnosed with EC on Nov 19,2010. I was in the process of eliminating a blockage because of chest pains, but found this instead. It was from a EGD test that I had done on the 17th.

My Drs. name is Dr. O. Halaweh, at the Aurora Health Care in Marinette, Wi, he is my Oncologist. The procedure that I have had are as follows:
EGD, CT scan, PET scan and am scheduled for a EGD with ultrasound on Monday.
We meet with a Cardiothoracic surgeon on wednesday his name is: Dr. Alexander Roitstein. Wasn't impressed with the way he described my surgery to us, (his exact words were "he was going to gut me like a deer"). Made me feel like running. He is with Baycare Clinic LLP in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
My cancer I am told so far is the lower one, and early results from a nurse is that the PET scan shows no other hot spots.
If you could find a clinic or hospital in my area it would be great, and better yet a capable MIE surgeon also.
I have read alot and learned alot on this site. Learned some questions that I need to ask and get answers for. For this I THANK YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE HERE.

Go Elsewhere!
My husband was diagnosed on Septemer 6th and we were going the same route as you until we found this website and were encouraged to seek a second opinion. We are on our way on Monday to Oregon and we live in North Idaho. It would have been so much more convenient to stay home, but my husband's life is on the line. We aren't even sure yet if he will be able to have surgery as he has some heart issues and the celiac lymph node is involved. We are praying for a clean Petscan so he has a chance.

I hope you will listen to the other's on this list as they know what they are talking about.

I wish you the very best, will keep you in prayer, and God Bless,

Linda