looking for cancer treatment
 

I need to have cancer treatment and need help. I am not sure where to go for treatment. I have heard good things about Dr. Pablo Reyes in the villages, Boissoneault oncology, and Hematology and oncology in Orlando. I am at a loss, do not know where to go. I have lymphoma. Thank you

I went to Boissoneault and I was very happy with the level of care and concern for the patient. All of the staff is very good and caring. They are always on schedule and you are in at your appointment time. The doctors are there if you need to ask a question and you get a weekly visit with the doctor. If you need to change an appointment time they will accommodate you.

The waiting room is clean and comfortable. The radiation areas are clean and well kept.

Z

Suggestion
 

The main thing to accomplish is a clear and good diagnosis, (e.g. how many nodes are involved, stages, etc.etc.) Once there is a real good diagnosis almost any good cancer treatment center can treat.
Having said this I would recommend going to a very good Clinic/Teaching hospital for a good diagnosis. Some that come to mind are Lahey Clinic in Arlington, Mass. John Hopkins in Baltimore, etc. It may be a little costly to travel to these locations but it is for the most important thing in your life. I will add that we have been to MD Anderson which is touted to be the very best Cancer treatment in the US, etc. We were not impressed but would definitely defer to Lahey or John Hopkins.
These are just some ideas but with the thought that the most important part of the concern is a proper and right diagnosis of the cancer and its stage and recommended treatment.
Good luck..

Don't forget the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

Don't forget Moffit Cancer center in Tampa. I'm a "Graduate" of Moffitt and teceived the best care.

Looking for cancer treatment
 

I am a patient of Dr. Pablo Reyes and have been very happy with the treatment I have received. I have Non-hodgkins Lymphoma and am presently feeling fine. Dr. Reyes and his staff provide a friendly and caring atmosphere. I had to have a mild form of chemo therapy and it has put my cancer into remission. When I was having the treatments at the Lake Cancer Center in Lady Lake the staff was professional, on time with the treatment and I always felt welcome. Dr. Reyes was very thorough in making sure he was diagnosing my condition properly. He and his staff are very approachable and they will answer any questions you may have. I consider myself very fortunate to have Dr. Reyes caring for me.

Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC is my strong recommendation. Having been there I cannot overemphasize their caring staff and state of the art facility. Their strong research component means that treatment regimens might be available there first, before other facilities. You will be in our prayers. All will be well.

What are your reasons for not being impressed with MD Anderson?

My husband recently finished his chemotherapy for non-hodgkins lymphoma with Dr. Rakesh Rohagti, who has an office off of Buenos Aries Blvd., near The Villages Hospital. He and his staff were excellent, and we would highly recommend them.

As soon as my husband was diagnosed (Dec 3), we started looking for Oncologists, and were planning to contact Dr. Reyes based on his credentials and online reviews from his patients. It was going to be weeks before we could get into see him ... but in the meantime, we were contacted by Dr. Rohatgi's office (the surgeon contacted him on our behalf), and we got in to see him, got tests/surgeries done, and he started chemo on 12/18.

We're in remission now and will be on a maintenance level of chemo for approx. 2 years.

Feel fee to PM me if you want to discuss more or want to speak with my husband about his experience.

We wish you the best.

MD Anderson
 

Regarding the question as to why MD Anderson is not first choice. In order to compare in addition to MD we have been to Lahey, Moffit, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland, Westchester Med Center and have had knowledge of Sloan through friends. All are excellent but the problem we had with MD Anderson was that it was an opinion that if you were a VIP or had a rather rare Cancer you would probably get great treatment. Coming off the street with what could have been a routine cancer it was the opinion there was not much difference in treatment.
It was basic that to get reasonable great treatment is must be a teaching hospital and a major objective was "diagnosis". Also the policies and practices are important. Do they have a policy that at the end of the week a series of Dr's will review your case either in written form or at a staff meeting of the Dr's associated with the type of problem being addressed and many so on's.
I don't mean to downplay any local Oncology Dr's but place a major emphasis on diagnosis and recommended treatment from an organization who looks at that as their major objectives.

For goodness sake, go to the Moffat Center in The Villages as fast as your legs will take you!!! The nine staff oncologists available to you are all excellent. I chose a fantastic woman whose training was at Johns Hopkins and M.D. Anderson. The Florida Cancer Treatment Center on the second floor is part of the largest coalition of research and treatment doctors in the country, so they are on the cutting edge. Gary Morse brought these folks from the Moffat Center in Tampa, an outstanding facility. However, if you sign on in Tampa, you have to do all of your treatment there. They are admitting 200 new patients per week, so I think they might be close to being overwhelmed.

The best thing of all was that I walked in the door for the first time with my new diagnosis last February. I met the Nurse Navigator who did everything for me. She set up appointments for all preliminary testing and my first doctor's appointment, all completed in one day! My first treatment was only two days later. I've never been treated better in any medical facility anywhere.

Bless you, and may you be a survivor!

Thanks for the clarification. MD Anderson saved the life of my best friend's daughter when she was in her early 20s (she's now in her 40s), after another teaching hospital told her she had a very slim survival chance. It was a very rare and infrequent form of cervical cancer that hits young women.

It turned out that this form of cancer is one of MDA's specialties. So from what you are saying, I can see that maybe this was why she was treated so well. They really do emphasize research there, so it's feasible that maybe they would prefer patients with special types of diseases.

Good to know your reasons plus your other suggestions for cancer care hospitals.

Use local hospitals for diagnostics, i.e. Mayo, Shands in Gainesville, Moffitt. There is absolutely no reason for you to consider leaving the area for good diagnostic information. My neighbor came from Washinton DC and was referred by his specialist in DC to an oncologist at Shands in Gainesville, he is in remission and has been for about 8 years. My girlfriend was diagnosed at Mayo, her treatment schedule was designed by them and she was referred to Rohatgi right here in TV. My husband was referred to Rohatgi and has been cancer free for five years.

We're from Boston where there are some of the best hospitals in the U.S. including the Dana Farber, but would not travel back to Boston when we are surrounded with excellent facilities right here in our own backyard!

Truly Understand
 

I truly understand that choosing a medical treatment center is a very personal decision and usually falls back to when/if an individual has received treatment and it has been successful. Regardless of personal decision I firmly believe to do the research and go to the best for the problem being addressed. Traveling and expense should play a back seat to going to the best for the diease. Of course there are limits as it would lack good common sense to go 1000-1500 miles for a cold or flu, etc. I have been involved in Hodgkins Diease, Stomach Cancer, Lupus, and a couple of other critical care needs including extraordinary surgery and potential serious other problems and through these have sort of developed a theory as to the best approach. BUT again, it is a very personal decision that only the person with the potential problem should be the one to call the shots. Good luck in you quest and God bless you.