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Thursday afternoon the Vorlon Wife and I saddled up Blue Velvet and headed for the Big Apple. Out mission was to meet with an oncologist at Sloan-Kettering. They are a renowned cancer center.
Sloan-Kettering told me I had to be there at 3:30 PM meeting to register for my 4:00 PM with the oncologist. We left the barn about 12:30 PM. I wanted some spare time.
Traffic was good on the way up and we made good time through the Lincoln Tunnel. Once in New York is it almost gridlock. I was a little unnerving, but we slowly wandered our way to Sloan-Kettering.
We handed the keys to Blue Velvet to the parking attendant in exchange for a ticket. Then we headed into Sloan-Kettering.
We did the registration and then waited. The appointment was at 4:00 PM, but I figured they would really get to us by 5:00 PM. That late in the day I expect doctors to run late and I figured an hour late was a good estimate. I took the time to return a few calls to some clients.
About 5:15 PM, they called for us. I had under-estimated the delay by 15 minutes. The oncologist read the reports I had faxed to him, did a cursory physical exam, looked at my films and then we sat down and discussed things and asked questions. While he was reading the reports, I was wondering why he hadn’t read them before I arrived.
I’ve had some time to mull over our conversation. The more I think about it the more I’m pleased I have my current oncologist instead of the one I met with.
He was probably over 60 and was German. He retained just a bit of an accent. When I asked questions of what I considered a creative nature I got the feeling, he was boxing me in.
I did pick up a couple of salient points. He said the Neulasta allows them to treatment more aggressive that otherwise. He also said I as being treated very aggressively. He also said I was getting the same treatment that I would at S-K.
He said what they normally see is that the chemo does not kill off all the cancer cells. If things go well, however, they see the cancer go dormant. How long it stays dormant is completely variable and they don’t have a clue as to why or how.
At some point, in most cases, it wakes up again. Then they treat it with another chemo regime. For most people this cycle continues until they run out of different chemo treatments to use. New treatments are in the pipeline, however, and things may be different in the future. The past does not necessarily predict the future.
He also said there are no blood markers for lung cancer and their only tool for measuring success is a CAT scan – which I am scheduled to get next Friday. This little piece of data, which I knew, continues to frustrate me. To my mind, it’s like driving from New York to California. You drive for 300 miles and then stop, get out and take a position reading. Then you get back in the car and drive some more. I will continue to search to see if there isn’t a better diagnostic tool.
After meeting with him, we decided to have something to eat and give the traffic time to clear out. We found a restaurant half a block away and for $50 had the equivalent of a fancy hamburger. It was tasty, but not THAT tasty. However, it was New York and not unexpected.
We then went back to the parking garage, for $40 ransomed back Blue Velvet from the attendant, and headed home.
I was now about 7:30 PM and I was surprised to find the traffic in New York just as heavy as when we came in. We eventually found out way to the Lincoln tunnel, missed it, made a big loop and entered it on our second try. Once on the New Jersey Turnpike we made good time getting home.
Between tolls, meal and parking I dropped about $100 and spent about 10 hours of my time. In the final analysis, I guess it was worth it.
I have long thought that the chemicals are the chemicals and every oncologist has access to them. The skill to mix and injected them takes a nurse. My local radiology lab, two miles from my house, has all the CAT, PET, MRI and other diagnostic tools you will find anywhere.
I am pleased with all the tools and skills I have access to in Vineland.
Posted by The Vorlon at December 10, 2005 7:51 AMIt does seem like the trip was worth it, if only to hear that your current local doctors are doing the same treatment as they would do at S-K. That gives some peace of mind.
Posted by: reborrell at December 10, 2005 8:55 AM