looking for support

heres how mine went down. bleeding went for uti , negative, see uro, x rays, then ct scan, then scope for just pictures, uro s office said i have cancer. no surgery no biopsy. nothing so i feel that was normal. you are not losing it . heres a real kick in the pants . i had one of those moments when i was glad some one else was in the room and heard it too. before my first sugery uro comes in and says '' i will CURE you of cancer'' i made him repeat it . so happy till 1 and1/2 months later i had a reocurrence. already. AAAAHHHHHH! good luck talk again becky

Tate,

I just thought of something else I have seen in the lobby at the cancer center, Forsyth is associated somehow with Duke....you might want to check that out too.

Clara

Thank you all for clarifying these confusing lists. The help here has been wonderful. You people are amazing to take the time to do this!!!!

I think we will stick with Vanderbilt, where we have an appointment Thursday. I am concerned with losing time visiting hospitals in other areas since Mom's cancer returned 12-15 weeks ago. The doc here says it's not such a worry she's had "treatment" since then, but since the treatment was not effective combatting the cancer, I fear it could be progressing. I know CIS can be unpredictable.

Kathleen

thanks joe, I guess I may have the hole part a little fuzzy. When I get my records from the office cysto maybe I can get some better clarification. I know she talked about different scenerios if she could not put the mitromycin in. I will be sure to let everyone know what I find out. thanks to you all

The rankings are useful but can be confusing...go to the same site and type in top Urological Hospitals and you will see Vanderbilt #l3......Johns Hopkins #1 and Cleveland Clinic #2 health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/search.php?spec=ihqurol&
Whats most important is finding a uro/surgeon/oncologist at a top facility in your category......Some of the top hospitals are tops because of Heart surgery or many sub-specialties but maybe have a small uro department with not much expertise with blc. Some smaller centers that deal just with blc are not even on the list.......its confusing and its even more confusing when you're trying to find a specialist that deals with female blc/ and construction.
When you begin your search hit the top centers, got to urology or genitourological cancers...hit each doctor in that department and see what their particular interest is...where their expertise lies. Yes its a long process but there are very generous surgeons out there who are willing to share their expertise with you...Dr. Lamm is one...Dr. Mark Schoenberg is another. The top guys all know each other...i sometimes email my own surgeon in Cleveland if there is someone who cannot travel and he has no hesitency to give me the name of an excellent physician in the area where the patient is.
I certainly can't tell you where to go but Vanderbilt is excellent and i think i already sent you the links to the uro/surgical oncologists there.....\
I personally got 6 different opinions..plus one by Dr. Schoenberg after writing to him on line...his nurse called me and set up a phone appointment the next day...and Dr. Lamm will write anyone.
Bladder cancer is a specialty but in some cancer centers not a priority.
Pat

Here are links and contact information to all three top NCI Hospitals in North Carolina:

Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
North
Carolina
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
Address:
Telephone: 336-716-4464
Web site: www1.wfubmc.edu/cancer
The Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest
University is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center that conducts research
and provides services directly to cancer patients.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers also conduct activities in
outreach and education, and provide information on health
care advances to both health care professionals and the
public. An NCI-designated Cancer Center must meet a
series of competitive requirements and demonstrate
excellence in cancer research. For more general
information about the Cancer Centers Program of NCI,
please visit
www3.cancer.gov/cancercenters/description.html
on the Internet.



Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
Duke University Medical Center
North
Carolina
Hock Plaza Suite 601
2424 Erwin Road
Durham, NC 27705
Address:
919-684-3377 (admin. offices)
1-888-275-3853 (1-888-ASK-DUKE) (consultation and
referral service)
Telephone:
Web site: www.cancer.duke.edu/
The Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center is a National
Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer
Center that conducts research and provides services
directly to cancer patients. Comprehensive Cancer Centers
also conduct activities in outreach and education, and
provide information on health care advances to both health
care professionals and the public. An NCI-designated
Cancer Center must meet a series of competitive
requirements and demonstrate excellence in cancer
research. For more general information about the Cancer
Centers Program of NCI, please visit
www3.cancer.gov/cancercenters/description.html
on the Internet.



UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill
North
Carolina
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Campus Box #7295
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Address:
919-966-3036 main
1-866-828-0270 (information or appointments)
1-877-668-0683 (clinical trials information)
Telephone:
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web site: cancer.med.unc.edu/
The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Centerr is
a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center that conducts research
and provides services directly to cancer patients.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers also conduct activities in
outreach and education, and provide information on health
care advances to both health care professionals and the
public. An NCI-designated Cancer Center must meet a
series of competitive requirements and demonstrate
excellence in cancer research. For more general
information about the Cancer Centers Program of NCI,
please visit
www3.cancer.gov/cancercenters/description.html
on the Internet.