Callie and nocam,

When I said U of Pitt would let you know if you qualify as a candidate for their study it was in reference to your current condition based on the files you send. If you are a candidate they will then need to see you for a final determination. I went through that and informed them on a Friday that I chose them to do my treatment; my first session was on Wednesday the following week.

Obviously I am a big proponent of second or third or fourth opinions. Then again my life was on the line. U of M told me I was out of options at 10:30 in the morning; I was scheduling my meeting with MDA by 1:30 the same day. It took me the rest of the week to schedule meetings with Pitt and Sloan and get my records overnighted to all three of them. I spent the next two weeks flying to Houston, Pittsburgh, New York and back to U of M for a consult with a doctor I trusted there. I had the money to do that at the time but I would have sold my car in a heartbeat if that�s what it took.

Don�t let one institution control the rest of your life (or tell you- you don�t have one). Get out there and get as many opinions as you can from top notch institutions.