Woes at MD Anderson (final)

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

Gene, folks need to open their eyes!  Your post was appropriate!  MDA has long held this reputation it didn't live up to, created by some million dollars they spend on publicity.  They are way behind the times in prescribing biochemo and interferon etc because of the profit motivation for these drugs (IL2) too.  They really take foreign country patients to the cleaners charging them I've heard up to 40K to enter the door.  No, they aren't what all their PR says and you are ever so right to tell the truth here to protect your fellow patient.

I debated long and hard before I even decided to respond to hopefully this final post on MDAnderson. I just felt I needed once again to reiterate that cancer care at big institutions is far from a perfect and exact science. Every single patient needs to govern and lead their own medical care, NO MATTER where they receive care. Regarding the Anonymous poster who bashed MDAnderson for offering biochemo, IL2, and interferon for profit margin, I would say have you walked their halls, talked to the patients, and done any outcomes survey?? We were at MDAnderson last year while my husband did six rounds of biochemo, TIL, and high dose IL2, we have seen many successes and many failures with these treatments over the many weeks we were inpatient. Not unlike all the other major therapies currently available for melanoma, like Zelboraf or Yervoy. No home runs yet with any of the current melanoma therapies, they work for some don’t work for others!

I know for a fact my husband’s cancer was spreading like wildfire before we went to MDAnderson in the Fall 2011. I also know for a fact that biochemo initially slowed everything down, shrunk many tumors, and bought us valuable time while his T cells were growing and we waited a trial spot. No one every told us biochemo was a cure, no one ever made us do that treatment, we agreed with the plan with our eyes
wide open. I personally don’t care where people go for melanoma care or what treatment they do, it should be their informed choice and I wish them well with whatever their decisions are for them. Fighting melanoma is hard enough, without having the constant negativity that some people keep regurgitating on this forum. Valerie (Phil’s wife)

I debated long and hard before I even decided to respond to hopefully this final post on MDAnderson. I just felt I needed once again to reiterate that cancer care at big institutions is far from a perfect and exact science. Every single patient needs to govern and lead their own medical care, NO MATTER where they receive care. Regarding the Anonymous poster who bashed MDAnderson for offering biochemo, IL2, and interferon for profit margin, I would say have you walked their halls, talked to the patients, and done any outcomes survey?? We were at MDAnderson last year while my husband did six rounds of biochemo, TIL, and high dose IL2, we have seen many successes and many failures with these treatments over the many weeks we were inpatient. Not unlike all the other major therapies currently available for melanoma, like Zelboraf or Yervoy. No home runs yet with any of the current melanoma therapies, they work for some don’t work for others!

I know for a fact my husband’s cancer was spreading like wildfire before we went to MDAnderson in the Fall 2011. I also know for a fact that biochemo initially slowed everything down, shrunk many tumors, and bought us valuable time while his T cells were growing and we waited a trial spot. No one every told us biochemo was a cure, no one ever made us do that treatment, we agreed with the plan with our eyes
wide open. I personally don’t care where people go for melanoma care or what treatment they do, it should be their informed choice and I wish them well with whatever their decisions are for them. Fighting melanoma is hard enough, without having the constant negativity that some people keep regurgitating on this forum. Valerie (Phil’s wife)

I debated long and hard before I even decided to respond to hopefully this final post on MDAnderson. I just felt I needed once again to reiterate that cancer care at big institutions is far from a perfect and exact science. Every single patient needs to govern and lead their own medical care, NO MATTER where they receive care. Regarding the Anonymous poster who bashed MDAnderson for offering biochemo, IL2, and interferon for profit margin, I would say have you walked their halls, talked to the patients, and done any outcomes survey?? We were at MDAnderson last year while my husband did six rounds of biochemo, TIL, and high dose IL2, we have seen many successes and many failures with these treatments over the many weeks we were inpatient. Not unlike all the other major therapies currently available for melanoma, like Zelboraf or Yervoy. No home runs yet with any of the current melanoma therapies, they work for some don’t work for others!

I know for a fact my husband’s cancer was spreading like wildfire before we went to MDAnderson in the Fall 2011. I also know for a fact that biochemo initially slowed everything down, shrunk many tumors, and bought us valuable time while his T cells were growing and we waited a trial spot. No one every told us biochemo was a cure, no one ever made us do that treatment, we agreed with the plan with our eyes
wide open. I personally don’t care where people go for melanoma care or what treatment they do, it should be their informed choice and I wish them well with whatever their decisions are for them. Fighting melanoma is hard enough, without having the constant negativity that some people keep regurgitating on this forum. Valerie (Phil’s wife)