Guest Jonathan Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Have any of you heard of Dr. Paul Bunn from the University of Colarado hospitals? I have been doing a lot of research on lung cancer and he seems to be highly reguarded as a lung cancer specialist, expert and researcher. He also heads some kind of lung cancer association I think. Just another suggestion for anyone looking for expertise second opinion. I think that it is essential for people to post when they know of or have had experience with an excellent (cutting edge) physician for this disease, so if any of you would like to share any experts in lung cancer that you think will benefit anyone here or anyone looking into a second opinion, i would like to get a discussion going about that as well. With that said, I am just wondering about a question that popped up in my mind the other day, and since I personally do not have cancer, I am wondering what your response would be, seing as you guys are the patients. here goes- Now lets say that you have two choices for your lung cancer care. You can be treated by a leading expert in the field of lung cancer, doing research in the field, and performing many clinical trials in lung cancer at a top cancer center such as Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, this physician is distantly nice, but still is not very caring and compassionate, by that I mean that he does not hug his patients and let them know for sure that they are truly special and cared about. he is not cold hearted either- just plain distant, but on the cutting edge of research and technology. Or you can be treated at a community hospital by a very caring and compassionate physician that does not have access to clincial trials and is not doing research in the field of lung cancer. He only has access to drugs that are standard and approved. Both oncologists are in your area. We all would like both and sometimes we find both, however, given this hypothetical scenario, what would your preference be. I am simply curious to see what patiemt's viewpoints on this are. Which physician would you choose? Why? Which physician do you think will be better able to cure you and treat you? I am trying to find out what the majority of patients are thinking: research or compassion and concern without research. Sincerely, Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Jonathan, I live right outside of Memphis. I am treated at West Clinic and my doctor and the clinic are wonderful. The doctor that started the clinic did much research in the past and tested Interlukin 2. I am able to go to the clinic get lab, get scanned (any scan needed) and get results all in the same day. Which means I don't have that agonizing wait for results. It is an amazing place. There are several doctors (maybe 10, or so) and their reputation is excellent. I see Dr. Brad Somer. He is from Penn. and is fairly young and I could not ask for more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Whoops to answer your question, I would go with the cold fish and cutting-edge medicine. Thank God I did not have to make that choice for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart ziggie ( Greg ) Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Johnathan, great question ! My oncologist has a rep as an very un emotional Dr. Heres my take on it. I like my Dr. he is very very real. He does not sugar coat anything and i respect that very much. He also has been very responsive to any and all of my questions and always takes his time when i see him. He is NEVER in a hurry and i like that. I think it depends on a patient by patient basis with some folks they may interpret this as a Dr. that doesnt care but i know this isnt the case. I truly respect my Drs. professional approach to and with his patients and for me he is the right fit. Thanks for bringing this up i will be wayching for other posts regarding this. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggiesmom Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Hi Jonathan, First off, let me say right off the bat that you are greatly appreciated on this board. Your contributions have helped us tremendously. Your spirit of concern and caring shine right thru. Dr. Paul Bunn who you mentioned was on channel 4 news in NY last night. he was heading the conference they held in Chicago recently. Very impressive, thank goodness. He is a leader in this research, that's for sure. Someday, some way, they WILL find an answer. You will be part of it. My dr. is the director of cancer care at a major NYC hospital and i was referred to him by my brother-in-law's friend who is his friend (got that?) Everyday, I thank God for him. he has saved my life - through his knowledge and expertise, but ALSO, AND THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR ME, by his compassion and good manner. The man is just the best at dealing with bad news, looking for the good when it can be found, and making you feel that you can beat the odds. He refuses to give in, he has faith in medicine and in me, i believe. I am 50 years old and in that 50 years, i have had TOO MANY experiences with doctors. Some were down right pitiful in their treatments, some were just ok, some very cold and obviously unconcerned about the patient. Given the choice, i would rather have a compassionate, caring doctor than a "scientific genius" who treats you like a cadaver. As an example, when I had my first bronchoscopy when this whole nightmare began, the dr. who did it, I never even saw, my husband never saw him and after almost 2 days in the recovery room (still intubated, mind you) another dr. calls my husband on the phone and says,"your wife has cancer, it's inoperable. sorry." and hangs up! My poor husband was ready to die there. No one wanted to tell me what I had. That, to me was the ULTIMATE IN POOR MEDICAL PRACTICE, BUT EVEN WORSE, THE WORSE BEHAVIOR OF ANY HUMAN BEING I HAVE EVER MET. Anyway, enough ranting on my part. To answer your question, compassion and caring go a LONG WAY in my book of what constitutes a good doctor. I know you will be one of them. Joanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdaW Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Dear Jonathan, Thank you for asking this question. It is not a hypothetical question for me. It is my reality. I was first diagnosed in Georgia where I live. My doctor here is excellent, but he is a generalist, not a specialist. When my first treatments did not work, I found an expert at the University of Pittsburgh Lung Cancer Center. His name is Chandra Belani. I spent months in Pittsburgh being treated with Taxotere. My treatment was nothing special, nothing cutting edge but it did me a world of good. Every patient I met had lung cancer and that had a very powerful influence on me. I needed to be with people like me. Later, after a recurrance, I had chemo in Georgia and then the doctors in Pittsburgh decided to operate. My thoracic surgeon was Dr. Rodney Landreneau, an outstanding top surgeon in this field. I think my surgery was cutting edge because I have radioactive seeds in my chest. Now I am being treated with IRESSA in Georgia, but my local oncologist called Dr. Belani to make sure of this next step. I will go up to Pittsburgh in July for appointments. I just feel more secure knowing that I have this back-up system of lung cancer experts in place. To answer your question. I would much rather be treated by a top expert even if they were sort of distant emotionally. I don't need warm fuzzies, I need someone with a good brain and problem-solving ability. I don't care if doctors want to hug me, I just hug them anyway. Even distant doctors need kindness and appreciation and that's how I show my gratitude. Jonathan, are you training to be an oncologist? Ada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bessb Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Jonothan Sorry to throw you but I want both. I want the one who is cutting edge but they must also have compassion. I don't need hugs and kisses but I want to be treated like a human being, will not deal with self centered cold fishes. I also will not tolerate pandering or negativity. Knowledge is extremely important but so is being treated like a human not a statistic or cadaver. I was told yesterday by a Fellow at Yale that she thought I had "somewhat of a success with my treatment so far", I stopped her right there and told her I would NOT tolerate her attitude, I think 70% shrinkage in 3 months is more than somewhat of a success and she had better learn that right now or not come near me again, I don't need negativity in my life right now, I am fighting for my life and I believe attitude is half the battle and I don't need medical personnel dragging me down. I really went off on her and on my new Oncologist who had somewhat of a pessimistic attitude also. I do not tolerate any behavior anymore from Doctors that I do not like, not since my diagnosis, life is too precious and I don't care how important they are. The oncologist is in charge of the lung cancer research project at Yale but I did not care and told him exactly what I thought of his attitude. I think more patients should speak up to these doctors, I no longer have any fear of speaking my mind Bess B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggiesmom Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Hi Bess, I was reading your post in response to Jonathan (the wizard ) and i noticed that your post said you won't tolerate negative attitudes from your doctors. i agreee 100 percent about that. I have a question about negativity - do you find yourself being intolleratant to other people as well since your diagnosis? I very much do. I seem to not be able to deal with bull..... quite as well as i used to. I get very short tempered with people and all i want is the truth from them- i'm very impatient. do you have that problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneBurris Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I have in fact heard of Dr. Bunn, last week in fact when I took my mom to Kansas City for a second opinion. The Dr. we met with gave reference to Dr. Bunn in Colorado, saying he was a leading expert in clinical trial type drugs. To answer your question concerning the community dr. vs the cold fish research dr, i would choose the community dr, but that's just because I'm working on establishing hope with my mother who has the cancer, and she leans so heavily on her dr's words and attitude that I feel the coldness of the doctor that she has now kind of takes the wind out of her sails. But that's just my personal opinion, I'm a big believer in prayer and a fighting spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Joanie In reply to your questions, I have always been a no nonsense type of person, I am very straight forward and have always told it like it is. I like to get right to the heart of the matter and deal with it and have never suffered fools gladly, however since my diagnosis I think I have gotten even more so. I have no tolerance for bull at all, I just cut people short right away, time is too precious now to waste. I feel I just cannot deal with people or doctors who are negative. I have a couple of friends who have made the remark "why don't you take a trip to Europe while you have the time"! I was kind of shocked, in other words "you are going to die so you had better get some enjoyment in". I just told them that if I wanted to take a trip to Europe it wouldn't take a lung cancer diagnosis to get me to do it! I also told them that I plan to be around for a while and not to worry themselves about how much time I have, I will do the worrying thank you. Maybe its the anger of dealing with this diagnosis or just the fact of having to live with this diagnosis 24/7 and dealing with the effects of chemo and the tests we all dread and pray will be alright that leaves me and I believe a lot of others in my shoes with intolerance. That is why I love this message board, you can come here and vent to each other, people who KNOW what its like and have no fear of being treated with negativity. Thanks for asking and may God bless us all with caring and understanding Doctors and friends Bess B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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