My cancer was not in the parotid gland. The first two times I have cancer, the tumor was in the middle of my left cheek. The first time I had OC, I surprisingly had 2 completely separate tumors. The second tumor was hidden behind my top left molar. Boy this feels like it was a million years ago when I went thru that. Time flies!!! Its coming up on my 11 year anniversary of my original diagnosis. I am very fortunate to have survived even though everything was against me. All I thought about during everything I went thru was its 100% my own fault and my children could be left without anyone. That was a direct result from the actions of their only parent. Its not that I was depressed, I was realistic and understood the situation which was I caused my own illness.

First, Im a neutral party who will be here to help you thru regardless of which facility you select. Most patients fare better at CCCs and at OCF, we advise going to a CCC if its an option. No matter what you select there will always be someone who has a friend of a friend, a co-workers second cousin, etc... same thing goes with some "new age" secret treatment only available at an exclusive medical clinic in the rain forest or some small 3rd world country. They will tout their unproven treatment as if it was a government conspiracy keeping it from patients. Anyone who has had cancer or been a caregiver has heard these types of things from well meaning friends and relatives. Basically, yes! it really does make a difference where you are treated! Scientific studies have shown patients treated at CCC's have a better survival rate at the 5 year post treatment (tx) mark. Of course, realistically not all patients have a CCC as an option, traveling when going thru cancer treatments is very hard on the patient. Bottom line, patients need to find the very best medical care that works for them and go with it. Whenever well meaning friends and relatives start preaching about this or that its best to just say thank you and keep going without getting into it. No matter what choice you make about your cancer, those same well meaning (but seriously unknowing) friends and relatives will add their two cents without anyone asking for their input.

Your post mentioned alot of facilities where doctors had worked at CCC's. Im sure they all are great physicians. But its is not the same as currently working at a CCC with a team based approach. Consulting briefly with other specialists at other treatment facilities is far different than the team based approach of all specialists being on the same page discussing each individual case during a tumor board meeting (patients can attend too). Im not aware of Columbia Presbyterian being a CCC or maybe they are affiliated with one? There is a difference in being treated at a CCC or somewhere that is just affiliated with one. You are very fortunate to have one of the countries top CCCs basically in your back yard. The top 2 are MD Anderson and Sloan Kettering. It cant hurt to check them out. Going to doctors who at one time worked at Sloan Kettering is not at all like going directly to the facility for treatments. Try to think of it a different way... if you only have one shot to completely eliminate the cancer should you go somewhere that treats say 100 OC patients a month or a place that treats 10? OC can be a fast moving and deadly disease. If you have not yet been to Sloan Kettering why not go for a second (or third) opinion? If you have seen doctors from different facilities who specialize in all different things, thats different than a second opinion. Going to Sloan Kettering would mean all doctors meeting together to discus your case. OC is not one of the top cancers that most people hear about. That means not all doctors have enough experience with it or can keep up with the latest findings. This is especially important when it comes to complex cases such as yours with no primary found. At the end of this post is a link to USNews best US hospitals and the NCI list of CCCs and cancer centers (CCs are different than CCCs).

I completely understand the difference it makes in which facility you go to if you are solely basing your decision on location. I cant imagine having to drive with that traffic. I was in NY for 10 days last fall and saw first hand what real traffic and gridlocks are like in a gigantic city. Theres no way I would drive in NYC, especially if I was going thru rads!!! I dont know if any of the doctors you have seen have mentioned to you that you may not be able to drive during all of your treatments and during the first month of so of your recovery. One tip that can help is when someone asks what they can do to help you, ask if they could help drive you for your treatments. Start making your contact list of everyone who has offered you their assistance. Theres all kinds of small things that can turn into a huge help to someone going thru rads. Most OC patients do not drive themselves. I have only seen a handful of patients able to drive during their treatments and recovery. Most patients have pain and so are on strong pain meds, they do not feel well, are nauseous, many have limited range of motion to turn their heads easily to name a few reasons why many can't drive themselves. Some patients are ok during the first 2 or 3 weeks after that, driving is unsafe and beyond their capabilities. Of course this is not every OC patient but I would estimate 95% arent able to drive themselves the entire time. When I went thru rads, I drove only about 2 weeks into my treatments then I had to concede and stop driving. It was about a month after I finished rads before I started driving again. The American Cancer Society has a volunteer driver program manned by cancer survivors and caregivers. Ive used it a couple times and volunteer once in a while taking cancer patients to their appointments. After you select your treatment facility and doctors, you can call the ACS (24/7/365) and get the ball rolling if you think you may use the program. It takes a few weeks to set everything up to be part of the driver program.

Selecting a facility sure isnt easy! I bet you never thought choosing could be so complicated or important. At least you live where you have options, not all patients are so fortunate. At the end of the day its 100% your decision, you are the one who has to live with it regardless if it turns out to be the right or wrong choice. Whatever you decide is up to you, nobody else. All of us go thru this and we all understand how difficult it can be. With just being diagnosed, so much is happening that it can easily become overwhelming. With so many options it makes it even harder to make decisions. Patients often feel the weight of the world is on their shoulders with so many unknowns and decisions. Try your best to stay positive!!!

I hope I havent made this any more difficult than it already is. Best wishes with whatever you decide.


US News top hospitals list...(NY area shown)

NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center list