Lung Cancer Treatment in the Woodlands Area

I'm so sorry. I would got to MD Anderson in a heart beat. Your girls will survive and hopefully learn a life lesson from this. This is what families do when someone gets sick. They pitch in. I would have the surgery at the medical center MD Anderson but you could have the chemo done in The Woodlands. This is a type of cancer that needs special attention and the folks at MD Anderson are beyond wonderful. A close friend's daughter was diagnosed with cancer this time last year. They lived at MD Anderson and had wonderful care for their daughter.

My thought is if you have the best cancer facility in the world why not take advantage!!!

Punkin,

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I would go with MD Anderson for the whole thing, and have the chemo/radiation done at Woodlands. Have you checked to be sure the surgery and follow-ups can't be done in the Woodlands? I know they can do surgery for some cancers up there. That being said, MD Anderson (which ever location) is probably the ONLY place I would go. Have had incredibly good experiences with them.

Maybe you can ask MD Anderson if they can still do the chemo/radiation if someone else does the surgery.

Please know I will be praying for your mother and for you and your family.

I work at MDA, and when I started reading your post, I wanted to suggest our Woodlands facility. I know that it's beyond inconvenient, but you really do want continuity in her treatment. You don't want to deal with the gaps in paperwork that happen when you switch facilities. Also, caregivers (specifically physicians) need to be free to take ownership for their treatment, and they can't do that if unaffiliated people also have their hands in the pot. You need to decide which team makes you feel most comfortable and join forces with them. Express all of your concerns, so you can feel like you are getting the best treatment possible. As long as you are good with what you're getting from them, let them do it.

Go online and register so you (as caregiver) and your mother (as patient) can specialize your experience. Speak with them openly and let them know that you really need the same. They will be your partners.

(Get familiar with this website, and take full advantage of all the amenities: http://www.mdanderson.org/.)

All the best in her treatment.

I had thyroid cancer surgery 4 years ago in Jan/Feb. My first surgery was here in the woodlands and to make a very long story short.....BIG mistake from the get go. The ENT did the first surgery without doing all the necessary testing. It was bad all the way around. Would not recommend surgery here at all. My doctors at MD Anderson were appalled. It only takes 1 hour to drive from my house to the parking garage at MD Anderson, and I live in the very back of The Woodlands. We are blessed to have MD Anderson right here, and I want to encourage you to take your Mother there. Your high school daughters will be fine, even if they have to adjust their schedule and lives for a little while. Have you already gotten the referral for MDA? If not, call the patient referral line and and then mail them all of the records ASAP. There are multiple reasons why MD Anderson is the best cancer treatment facility in the world, so please take your Mother there.