Newbie Here - When to Start Chemo

Sorry..forgot about the U of Texas Southwestern group and Dr. Ganesh Raj....he's had great training. Dallas a bit closer.

www.utsouthwestern.edu/patientcare/doctor/findphysician/profile/0,0,84542_Dr_Ganesh_Raj_MD_&fpSB=lName&fpNR=50&fpJump
=0&fpType=&firstName=&lastName=&gender=Any&language=Any&webServiceSlt=Any&webProgramSlt=&clnInterestSlt=10262&searchType=clinInterest
&specialty=
Any&index=4,00.htm

Pat

this link will not take you to his page but just type in Raj and you get the link to him.

TLW,

Her doc thinking it best not to tell her may be ok or not. It all depends on your mom. You would know that the best. See if your mom will add you to the list of people that can see/obtain the records from the doctor and then ask for ALL the records he has.

From the way your mom described things (in your previous post) it doesn't sound like she's a worry wart or that she'd have a problem with more information. Again, you be the judge.

Glad to hear you are going the specialists route. That is TRULY the way to go in this case.

Best of luck!
Mike

Thanks all.

The advice seems to be unanimous. If we can just get her Dr. to get us some info. . . . It may be that he simply thinks she gets more distraught the more she knows so he is not saying much. I guess I need to intervene and get him to spill the beans. Then it'll be off to M.D. Anderson I suspect. I'm sure I'll be back seeking more advice.

It's good to know that kind, thoughtful people like you are out there.

UT Southwestern in Dallas is also cutting edge and has some really experienced bladder cancer guys. I finally got my Dad to see one at UTSW AFTER he had the surgery. I can give you names if you think Dallas might be an option.

It only requires one consultation and one out patient (usually when done by a experienced surgeon) TURB. Thats 2 trips and you have a diagnosis. Is there not someone who could take her to MD Anderson in the area if you can't make the trip.
Thats just crazy to suggest chemo if thats what he's really suggesting without pathology. ITs nuts! It will do no good to seek out a oncologist as he's not going to know what the heck he's dealing with either.
There is another option a bit closer at the U of Texas in San Antonio
Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., named interim leader
Effective Oct. 26, the CTRC’s interim executive director will be Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., a researcher on three major NCI grants. Trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Dr. Thompson is a nationally recognized expert in the prevention, early detection and treatment for prostate, kidney and bladder cancers. He chairs the Department of Urology and leads the successful Genitourinary Cancer Clinic at CTRC, where he has an active clinical and surgical practice in urologic oncology. Dr. Thompson’s research is supported by two endowed chairs: the Henry B. and Edna Smith Dielmann Memorial Chair in Urologic Science and the Glenda and Gary Woods Distinguished Chair in Genitourinary Oncology. A prolific author, Dr. Thompson has published more than 400 scientific papers and multiple books.
www.uthscsa.edu/HSCNews/singleformat.asp?newID=3261&SearchID=bladder%20cancer%20specialists
There is a number to call on this page.
At MD Anderson..Dinney , Grossman or Kamat
www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/care-centers-and-clinics/care-centers/genitourinary/doctors-staff/index.html
Pat

TLW,

Have your mom get a copy of her records from her urologist.
If he did a biopsy, there should be a pathology report.
Also, tumor removal is not a "hop up and put your feet in the stirrups" type of operation. At least, not the "right way".

If your mom has bladder cancer, then she should get a referral to a doctor at a bladder cancer center. These are the folks that deal with bladder cancer multiple times a day, rather than multiple times per year.

Snipping things out and then "Come back and we'll take a look in three months" does not sound like the proper way to be treating this.

Your mom probably needs a reTURBT (Trans Urethral Resection of the Bladder Tumor). This should be done in a surgery center (preferably at a bladder cancer center) where they can get sufficient tissue around the tumor (margins) in order to know exactly how deep into the tissue the cancer is.

A lot also depends on how healthy your mom is otherwise but what you have described sounds like you may want to step in and help your mom navigate this situation.

Mike