Hi Danny,
Absolutely dead on. Should be require reading for all cancer patients. My HMO (Kaiser Permanente) has a feature that allows you to look up ALL of their doctors on-line, where they went to school, residency, etc. And they use a team approach which was a real plus. They also have advice nurses which bailed me out many times and were an excellent interface with the doctor. Kaiser has provided me with copies of all my medical records and tests. They give cancer patients first priority also. I have been extremely satisfied with the standard of care. They also paid 100% of the bill to send me to UCSF (rated #7) for IMRT radiation (which came to a little over $200,000.00 I might add). I put together a binder (4" thick) with medication information sheets, business cards, Dx information, treatment options and notes, that my wife transcribed at all of my visits. I spent a solid month on line researching everything I could find and made my decisions based on the highest standards of care available. It was the most important "project" in my life - possibly saving my life. I also have 2 close friends, one a research oncologist and the other a pharmacist and that has been very useful also. However ALL of the information I acquired anyone could get with some focused surfing on the internet. I did parallel research on benefits and financial aid. Great advice Danny. If more people "got into" their treatment, it might even improve the odds.