Best hospitals for treatment

KU Med
Andrea,

Wake Forest has a pretty highly rated medical program. Sounds like you may be in pretty good hands.

All of my treatment was done at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. I am very satisfied with the care I received for surgery, radiation and chemo. They're a research facility and seem to be one of those cutting edge institutions.

Rush

Hi Andrea
I like both MD Anderson in Houston and Mayo Clinic in AZ, but the main thing is to believe and trust in your doctors. I never heard of the Forest Baptist Medical Center so I can compair them. My Cancer was NPC and the best doctor I found in the USA for NPC Cancer was at the Mayo Clinic.

All the best and happy Thnaksgiving you and your Dad, God bless and keep you both

the best facility
I live in Richmond, VA. I used to be of the belief that all doctors know what they are talking about NOT TRUE!!!! and they tend to not tell you when they dont know what they are talking about. When I was diagnosed last year i saw 2 Ents, 2 Oncologists and 2 Rad Drs hear in Richmond and received 4 different routes of treatment. It was only when I told my original ENT that I was going to Johns Hopkins that he told me he really didnt deal with this form of cancer much, maybe twice a year! My original tumor could not be found, they did a blind biopsy surgery here in richmond checking the tongue, tonsils and sinuses and came up with nothing meaning everything gets radiated (as everyone here knows causing major quality of life problems!). After this i went to Johns Hopkins and the Dr there was shocked at the treatment recommendations, that they hadnt even checked the tumor in my lymphnodes for HPV and much more. My surgeon there just kept telling me that I needed to come there, that all they deal with in they're dept is head and neck cancer. When asked how many cases of my type of cancer he personally dealt with the answer was 25 to 30 cases per MONTH! They did the same blind biopsy one week after here in richmond and found the original tumor in the base of my tongue. The treatment I received there in my opinion was above and beyond in every aspect. If you check US NEW Johns Hopkins is ranked number one in EAR Nose and Throat Cancer hospitals http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer
I hope this helps

ps: Dont always take the first opinion you hear DO SOME RESEARCH! Its your fathers life your dealing with and just like in every profession there are people that are ok at they're job and there are people who are excellent at they're job! and then there are people that have no business doing they're job!

connieprice1 said:

Best Treatment Centers
My wife is starting treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Treatment Center in Houston, Tx. We are very pleased by the tests performed and professionalism. In fact MDA is rated the best cancer hospital in the world. They have a website and if you are having any doubts about the care your dad is receiving, you would love this hospital. Good Luck and keep in touch.

MD Anderson "alum"
I completed my treatments seven months ago at MD Anderson and have been more than satisfied with the treatment and care that I received. I received both chemo and radiation treatments at their Katy, TX satellite office. The radiation oncologist (Dr. Gregory Chronowski) is a "head & neck" guy, so we were lucky to have him. Going to the Katy branch was a blessing as we did not have to drive downtown every day...the "Med Center" in Houston is massive. I can echo connieprice1's comment...we love MDA too.

Best to you, your dad and all here,
Chuck.

Best Hospitals
I think there are probably many. A lot just depends on what they are doing within the specialty fields, and then what the specialty doctors are doing as for studies, white papers, additional study.

I live in a relatively small town between Tampa and Orlando, called Lakeland, Florida.

The facility that I had all of my treatment is affiliated with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center on the University of South Florida Campus.

My facility is actually called The Watson Clinic Center for Cancer Care & Research.

My ENT who is the lead over my team of professionals (Chemo, Radiation, Surgery) is awesome. His name is Dr. Serge Jean and he attended Harvard Medical School, then did his internship and additional studies at John Hopkins.

He is still very active within the community and continues to perform research and write white papers.

But as mentioned, having a lot of faith and confidence in your doctors plays huge in your positive attitude as well.

Best,
John

ekdennie said:

I went local
Andrea,
There are great doctors at just about every hospital...MD anderson (in Texas) is considered the best, especially for head and neck cancers. Mayo is also great. I chose to go to one of my local hospitals, but I went in making sure that I had found the best ENT in not just the state, but the region. I chose my surgeon based on where my tumor was located (palate with growth through my maxillary sinus, it was pressing on my septum and my right jaw). He used arthroscopy to remove a good portion of the tumor using a special stereotactic CT, where he could plan for the removal in 3D. He was the best choice for me, and I am so very happy by his work. however, choosing someone local doesn't work for everyone. If you don't like your care, contact another doctor, another hospital...get as many opinions as you need until you feel confident and your dad feels confident. I am a firm believer that if you have faith in your doctor's skill that you will heal faster...if you don't believe in your doctor, then you will stress and slow down your healing (or in this case, your dad needs to trust his doctor).
wishing you the best of luck, please let us know where you decide to go.
elizabeth

Memorial Sloan Kettering
I was treated at Sloan, in NYC (I completed my treatments, radiation and cisplatin, on 8/13/10). What I found is that they treat the whole person, nutrition, swallowing therapy, phsycological concerns, everything you need under one roof. I am sure that you can find that at many cancer hospitals such as MD Anderson, Mayo, Dana Farber, UCLA, etc. That type of ease of care is important when you are in the thick of things and dont have the energy to go to various places.

Ray

scottied said:

the best facility
I live in Richmond, VA. I used to be of the belief that all doctors know what they are talking about NOT TRUE!!!! and they tend to not tell you when they dont know what they are talking about. When I was diagnosed last year i saw 2 Ents, 2 Oncologists and 2 Rad Drs hear in Richmond and received 4 different routes of treatment. It was only when I told my original ENT that I was going to Johns Hopkins that he told me he really didnt deal with this form of cancer much, maybe twice a year! My original tumor could not be found, they did a blind biopsy surgery here in richmond checking the tongue, tonsils and sinuses and came up with nothing meaning everything gets radiated (as everyone here knows causing major quality of life problems!). After this i went to Johns Hopkins and the Dr there was shocked at the treatment recommendations, that they hadnt even checked the tumor in my lymphnodes for HPV and much more. My surgeon there just kept telling me that I needed to come there, that all they deal with in they're dept is head and neck cancer. When asked how many cases of my type of cancer he personally dealt with the answer was 25 to 30 cases per MONTH! They did the same blind biopsy one week after here in richmond and found the original tumor in the base of my tongue. The treatment I received there in my opinion was above and beyond in every aspect. If you check US NEW Johns Hopkins is ranked number one in EAR Nose and Throat Cancer hospitals http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer
I hope this helps

ps: Dont always take the first opinion you hear DO SOME RESEARCH! Its your fathers life your dealing with and just like in every profession there are people that are ok at they're job and there are people who are excellent at they're job! and then there are people that have no business doing they're job!

Same Doc?
I'm seeing Dr Wayne Koch at Hopkins. I am very confident that I am in good hands.

Dale

SASH said:

Treatment Locations
One way of doing some research is by going to http://www.usnews.com (US News and World Report). They do an annual survey of hospitals and include hospital specialties. When I was diagnosed the oral surgeon that did the biopsies had no idea where to send me. Luckily a friend of my sister worked for University of Miami - Sylvester Cancer Center and we sent my path report to her so she could see if that was something they could deal with. At the time they were ranked # 35 in the nation for ENTs. This is not necessarily all based upon Cancer but I found them to be very responsive and brought my case immediately to the tumor board to come up with a treatment plan.

No matter where you choose to be treated, make sure the docs specialize in H&N Cancers and are not just general surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists that see this a few times a year.

Best Hospitals for Treatment
I don't know about any of the other people here but I went into this this with no Insurance at all ,therefore I had absolutely no choice but to take what was given me by my local Hospital via charity care. Northeast Georgia Hospital in Gainesville Ga. was where I ended up. I found the care there first rate for the most part , so unlike a lot of you I could not pick a top rated Hospital.
I am 12 months out of treatment and I'm still here, so I guess that says' something !

Hello,

My name is Juan and I am trying to find a good therapist for my mother. She has been dealing with Stomach cancer for about a year and she is currently suffering from a lot of anxiety. If anyone has any places they recommend in the Los Angeles area I would greatly appreciate it. We have been trying to find therapist but they make it so difficult to make an appointment. Thanks.

The University of Pennsylvania cancer center is where I was referred by my ENT and I had a phenomenal experience with the care team and a very successful surgery. If you are a candidate for TORS then I encourage you look into it. My surgeon pioneered the procedure for head and neck cancer. I am looking at the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion on my post operative radiation as I’m low risk for recurrence and want a de-escalated protocol for my treatment , but would be happy staying at UPENN for that as well if that is how things end up.