new to the board

Battle Creek, MI
Hey Neighbor!

We are located between Battle Creek and Marshall. Husband diagnosed 21 NOV 2012 - Stage 3 T3N1M0. We are seeing Dr. Reddy of University of Michigan as the thoracic surgeon - he is trained under Dr. Orringer who invented and perfected the THE. He sent us to West Michigan Cancer Center to see Dr. Nigrin for the radiation oncologist and Dr. Chandana for the chemo oncologist. We are extremely happy with our team - although the wait was quite unbearable (our gastroenterologist's office had no experience with UofM or esophageal cancer so there was confusion as to whom to see in the beginning) We feel blessed to have Dr. Reddy so experienced and right here in our backyard.

Believe me, I did exhaustive research and took the opinions of the pioneers on this site and researched their advice. It is an overwhelming task, because, naturally you want the best. The answer is that there are very many qualified, highly trained and experienced surgeons and oncologists across the United States and other countries as well.

I questioned Dr. Reddy and his staff as to why we should go there and not to Dr. Luketich at UPMC and the answer was that Dr. Reddy, Dr. Orringer and the EC team at UofM have actually performed more surgies (in number) and continue to have an excellent track record as far as good results. One staff member even said that his dad works around Dr. Luketich and that he (the staff member) would come to UofM if he had EC. Dr. Luketich is the top in his field of MIE approach to surgery. This is no disrespect to Dr. Luketich whatsoever, but a huge compliment to Dr. Reddy and colleagues at Univ of Mich who have studied under Dr. Orringer.

There are basically three kinds of surgeries:
1. Ivor Lewis
2. THE
3. MIE (there are various types of MIE's so this needs to be very carefully researched - you want the MIE that Dr. Luketich is perfecting)

On this board, there are experiences with each of these surgeries. We also have Stage IVs who cannot have surgery and are being treated with chemo and/or radiation.

You did not say what your diagnosis is - so I am going to assume you just found out you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer and you are looking for - What is the next step and who is and where is the best facility/doctors in the world. (short answer = they are everywhere - you just need to find out who and where is the best for you)

We feel blessed to have the top THE doctors and facility in the world right here in Ann Arbor, MI - so we chose to go there - our second choice would have been Dr. Luketich. Of course, your insurance and financial situation will more than likely factor into your decision if you are like most of us - if that is the case - you can be very grateful that UofM is right next door to you.

You will find who fits the bill for you in short order - don't panic - just do a little research and you'll the team that is right for you.

After being on this site for a while now, I can see that is extremely important to have an experienced surgeon and oncology team - medical professionals who actually have experience with EC. I have read almost every single post on this site (going back as far as the first post that I could find on this site) and I can see that these patients have been to a lot of different surgeons and oncologists - there are some who have had the same doctors/surgeons - but most of us are spread all around and there are a lot of satisfied people across the U.S.

There is also another caregiver that goes by fighting4popi (I think I spelled that right) and they are located near Detroit and are going to a facility over there and they are very satisfied and are nearing a date for surgery.

We were happy to drive back and forth to Ann Arbor everyday for radiation and chemo, but Dr. Reddy said it would be much more convenient to do that closer to home and he suggested West Michigan Cancer Center located in both Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. Kzoo had the first opening and we took it.

I believe Univ of Mich has a cancer center satellite office somewhere in Jackson. If possible, I would try to get a referral to Dr. Reddy or one of his teammates asap and they will set you up from there. It seemed weird to me that we would see the surgeon before the radiologist and chemo oncologist - but it turns out that is quite normal also.

Please keep us posted and when you have time - could we have some information about you and/or the survivor? Diagnosis? What were the symptoms? Do you know the stage? What tests have already been done. Anything that you think would help us know you and your situation better.

You have really come to the right place - this site has been a lifesaver for us and you will get soooo much help.

Welcome aboard,
Judy

Below is the contact info for University of Michigab your reference:

University of Michigan
Section of Thoracic Surgery
1500 E. Medical Center Dr.
2120 Taubman Center
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5344
(734) 936-4973

The Section of Thoracic Surgery provides comprehensive outpatient and inpatient services, both diagnostic and therapeutic, for patients with non-cardiac surgical diseases of the chest. Thoracoscopic (video-assisted) thoracic surgery is performed routinely for lung and pleural biopsies and the treatment of hyperhidrosis by sympathectomy.

Phone Numbers
Patient Appointments
(734) 936-4973

Mark B. Orringer, MD
(734) 936-4975

Andrew Chang, MD, Section Head
(734) 763-7418

Jules Lin, MD
(734) 763-0470

Rishindra Reddy, MD
(734) 763-7337