Newly diagnosed mother of 5

Keep a good chin up… I was bleeding as well for a few months… thought it was menopause… tests for everything to rule things out…. Bladder Cancer! My whole world fell apart! That was May of 2012… I have had 3 surgeries since then. Going in every 3 months… I have had a surgery in May of 2012, May 2013, and Nov 2013 all low grade.. today I had my 2nd of 6 weeks chemo BCG to really try and zap it.. I so hope it works and I hope you will do well too. I have 2 grown boys 29 and 32 and I smoked for many years quit 12 years ago… I stopped dying my hair when I was told I had this...

Hi Natasha, I am with Sara Anne, I wouldn't go to the ctca . But if you google U.S. News best hospitals for cancer you will find Md Anderson scores at number one with a score of 100 out of 100. That is where I would go if I could. Don,t worry about it being to big , hard to figure out , they are used to dealing with out of towners and I am pretty sure they would give you all the help you need. You will probaly get the best peace of mind there . Rocky

PS. There are a number of motels that are very close at MD Anderson. One is walkable to most sections. JC Rotary House by Marriott and have had a friend use the local Holiday Inn Express.

I was fortunate to have a great local URO that did everything right thus I didn't have the need to go to MD Anderson. He personally broke the news that my grade was 3 (high grade) after he personally read the path report and the CT scan said "No tumors visible or suspected" to where he personally read it and saw the tiny tumor. What a doc! The bad news is he moved from New Braunfels to Marble Falls with Scott & White-also a well respected cancer hospital/clinic group but, the Dallas UT and MD Anderson from what I can read still are the best on BC>

At MD Anderson Drs. Kamat, Grossman and Denney are all nationally highly respected. I have had friends see Kamat and Grossman and they are very happy with the care. I believe you can self refer at MD Anderson.

Either would at least let you find closer travel than Atlanta and I am sure as well received clinically.

Thanks for your responses! I haven't checked into UT in Dallas but I will. I've heard great things about MD Anderson. May I ask who you saw there? It's such a large hospital and I'd like to go to a good, reputable dr and not waste my time if I'm driving 5 hrs. (I live in the Texarkana area).

I will start researching both places y'all mentioned.

Thanks!!,
Natasha

I will chime in and ditto Sara Anne's comments about treatment centers. The UT Dallas is well respected and MD Anderson in Houston also, especially for bladder cancer. I live in New Braunfels so MD Anderson is my backup as I got lucky my local URO is excellent. Hopefully your insurance will give you those two options.