Hello, your sister is lucky to have you. I was diagnosed Thanksgiving Day 2009. I live in Sacramento. I was in El Paso for the holidays. Going back to November 2007, I had pain in my back, went to UC Davis Spine Center. First, diagnosis? Metastatic cancer - get my affairs in order. Then test after test after test for 6 more agonizing months. The last straw was when the doc told me it didn't matter that he couldn't pull up the latest test results from a full body bone scan on the screen - the only solution was to cut me here to there, crack open my chest, install plates and screws along my spine. I said no thanks. I lived in extreme pain for 2 years. Fast forward to last Thanksgiving when I was dianosed with with bladder cancer. I made the smartest decision of my life. I went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona rather than endure the months of appointments and tests at UC Davis.
When I recommend Mayo, I hear "it is too expensive to go out of town for treatment." Don't let the perceived cost scare you. It is so not true. Mayo's charges to treat not just one tumor, but two, were less than the 5 hours I spent in the ER.
You can apply online. Mayo responded to me in 24 hours. My first appointment, I talked to Dr. Swanson, he reviewed the MRI I had done in El Paso, performed a cystoscopy right then!! I didn't feel a thing. I got to see the tumor on the TV monitor. Afterward, he told me about removing the tumor (TURBT). Within a matter of 4 days, I had all the tests (all done one after another - no waiting), surgery (procedure in Mayo terminology), and home recovering. There is never any waiting at Mayo. They run on time and expect you to, too. The cost to me in terms of list income, pain, frustrastion, and worry?? Less than if I had stayed with UC Davis. 4 days! Your sister ws diagnosed at least 30 days ago. Go to Mayo, if it isn't too late.
It occurred to me that if I was going to be Mayo seeing the best diagnosticians, I might as well have my back looked at. It took 30 days to get the records from UC Davis. They wouldn't send them when I begged, they wouldn't send them till they were good and ready even after Mayo contacted them. I saw the Mayo doctor and told him what UC Davis' Spine Center's doctors told me - about the surgery. The Mayo doctor said "we don't do that anymore - it is old school." They told me about vertebroplasty where cement is injected into the vertebra replacing the bone eaten away by the tumor. 2 days later I had the procedure. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes - 1 hour for the cement to set. I woke up the next morning, hunched over as usual to crawl out of bed on my hands and knees - like I had been doing for two years...when I realized that I had no pain in my back what so ever. Unbelievable. The doc promised me I could ski again. I was happy just to be able to carry a purse!!! It is like the last 2 years of pain vanished. Absolutely amazing.
Bottom line. Don't drag it out. You will be miserable, your sister will be miserable. I know, I was there. Sadly, during the drawn out process at UC Davis, I became alienated from my sister. I went through the process at Mayo by myself. But, it was a piece of cake.
I can't say enough good things about the Mayo Clinic. Every thing is first class. Think there is a line of patients backed up from dawn to dark awaiting surgery? Mayo has 19 - yes, 19 operating rooms. Think you have to wait to have your vitals taken? Think again. 19 Teams are prepping the patients. Staff were color coded uniforms to you know who is who. Amazing. Another cost saver? 85% of all procedures are out-patient!
) Squamous cell carcinoma is not the most common form, and it is important that she get her case reviewed at a center that sees LOTS of bladder cancer and that treats a LOT of women. If I were in your sister's situation, I probably would be on the bus to USC-Norris.
