A couple of months ago I noticed one of my lymph nodes on the side of my neck was swollen... and it stayed swollen all this time.. I kept thinking it was shrinking but maybe that was just hopeful thinking.

I initially went to my PCP at Houston Methodist and she referred me to an HM oncologist.
He did some initial blood tests and they came back totally normal. Also did some imaging and they did notice the enlarged lymph nodes in my neck and by my collar bone. He suggested going to see an ENT first before moving on to a biopsy of the node. Well I decided to go ahead with the biopsy and it came back with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I have since had a PET scan and ultrasounds and an LDH blood test and it sounds like my lymphoma is relatively non-aggressive.

The oncologist is now referring me to the HM main campus to meet with a doctor to discuss treatment/chemo.

I want a second opinion so I'm thinking about MDA. Hopefully my insurance can cover some of it.

What say you Ags? Is HM a good place to go for cancer treatment/diagnosis or is MDA in a different league?
I'm thinking it is... I have a rare form of lymphoma (Mantle Cell lymphoma) so MDA most likely has better/more options for me.

First of all, may God be with you. I hope you BTHOcancer very quickly.

I've been in healthcare IT my whole career and have worked for/with C-level execs in the med center. ALWAYS go to MDACC is their advice.

If you can, go to MDACC.

And BTHO Cancer.

Echo what previous posters have said..Hang in there man.

If you are in town, there is no reason not to go to MDA. And this is not a shameless plug even though the wife and I work there. My mother was a patient in the late 80s and my dad is a patient now.

If you insurance covers MDA I can't think of a reason to not go. Especially with a rarer form of cancer.

Not sure where you are located but with locations in Katy and The Woodlands after your treatment regimen is set not even necessary to drive into the Med center for radiation or chemo and imaging.
My Dad had pancreatic and the Methodist doctors completely understood his decision to go with MDA.

I can't speak for others but my experience at md Anderson is top notch. I was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014 and been in remission for 3 years. I cannot imagine going anywhere else. You are fortunate to be in one of the best cancer treatment cities in the world, use it.

Rooting for you and keep a positive outlook. It does wonders.

WhoopRAB said:

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Garth Beinart at HM is excellent. He prolonged my mother through several cancers beyond expectations. Initially, we tried to push her to MDACC but she resisted. She was a health care professional and thought MDA was more likely to be more concerned about their study than her body.

MDACC has been great for several friends. One was in a test group and unfortunately was in the placebo set.

I would be comfortable with either system.

My FIL went to a smaller outfit in Dallas for NHL. Their prescribed treatment was pretty cookbook with RCHOP chemo. The difference, IMO, between Methodist, MDA vs smaller oncology groups is how they react after the first dose of chemo. My FIL had a bad reaction to, vincristine, one of the components of the R-CHOP cocktail and it led to severe neuropathy. MDA May have recognized the issue and reduced that component of the treatment.

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Dr. Beinart provided great care for my Dad also. In my family's experience, he's a damn good medical oncologist. I don't think he would hesitate to set you up with MDA if he felt they had a better treatment option than he could provide. That said, in my limited experience, the initial treatments will be by the book if you're being covered by insurance. In my dad's case MDA and Methodist were going to treat it the same way up to the point where trials were needed. MDA will typically have more trial options than Methodist. Or at least they did at the time.

Garth is a close friend. He's a super great guy and a fantastic physician. Ask to meet his wife Jessica. Lol. Both tsips but as good as it gets. Great family!

Wife had Non-Hodgkins and was immediately sent to Dr. Ronjay Rakkhit with Oncology Consultants. Can't say enough about how great he was. Hers was very aggressive, and he saved her life. Tumors were pressing on vital organs. 5 years cancer free.

We did go get a second opinion at MDACC, but she wanted to stay with Rakkhit. Dude was on top of his game.

My dad passed after his 3rd battle with soft tissue sarcoma last year and his experience with MDACC was not that good. Not sure there was much they could do, but they didn't seem like they had a real sense of urgency with him.

Being in Houston, going to MDA is easy enough so you might as well. If you're going to get standard of care treatment, it'll be the same as anywhere so convenience and relationship with your doctor is a big driver. Clinical trials and rare cancers are completely different ballgame. MDA can sometimes be a little daunting and big for some patients. It's depends.

Someone else mentioned Oncology Consultants. They're great too.

Mantle cell isn't that rare but it's not like breast, lung, or colon that general med oncs see daily. Best of luck and prayers for you.

My FIL just went through a trial program at md Anderson for this and has been in remission for over a year now. Really wasn't looking good at first before starting treatments but he's doing pretty well now. It was an immunotherapy treatment iirc. Good luck and God speed to you.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and thank you for the prayers, I know my family and I will need them along this "journey".

Since I have a fairly rare form of non-Hodgkins, I think I am leaning towards MDA... after all, "cancer" is their thing and I believe they have a lot more resources and experience. I am also going continue my follow-up with HM and then make the best decision I can.

Dont think you can go wrong with either - but Dr. Beinart is a fantastic physician as well. MDA and Houston Methodist are both great facilities.

First T&P for you and your family as you start this journey.

My Dad was diagnosed with Mantel Cell Lymphoma in 2016 at 65. He stuck with his oncologist Dr Baker in the medical center at Houston Methodist, however he received a secondary opinion from MDA through Dr Wong who is the head of the department, extremely intelligent guy and great bedside manner compared to some of the other docs we have met there with my husband's cancer. I highly recommend you get a second opinion from MDA given mantle cell can also initially present and could actually be a closely related cancer. It won't change your treatment options much but he saw Dr W after starting treatment and the samples sent from Methodist weren't enough for MDA to fully conclude it was Mantel cell. They noted 2 others potentials I think CLL was one.

When I attended his follow up after having gone through all the treatment he was cancer free and Dr W mentioned that in the 5 year relapse period they expected to be very close to having a "cure". We're at that 5 year mark and we believe the follow up protocol he goes through every year is the "cure" at this point. So far so good.

I highly recommend the second opinion because the related cancers are so very close. Treatment is very similar but that's one thing MDA wished they had known at the beginning. Granted he was stage 4 and just had a bypass so we didn't have a lot of time to sit around a wait. Thank goodness for his pulmonologist who found it after the issues with recovery from bypass.

We know of 2 other family friends with the same diagnosis who have had success with treatment. One underwent a more experimental drug that wasn't available at the time he underwent his surgery. Both have good prognosis. One has lived with the cancer and treatment for quite some time.

Best of luck. I'm sure he would be happy to discuss with you if you would like.

I think the message is pretty clear by now, but just in case it isn't, here is my opinion. Go to MDA. My sister has been through 2 different kinds of cancer now, ocular melanoma and breast cancer and had both treated at MDA. Both times, her experience was just top notch in every way. The docs, nurses, and the administrative setup and followups, just everything there was totally focused on helping her beat her cancers and making it as easy and painless as possible for her. The only negative I ever heard from her was about one of the dieticians they had there. Everybody else has just been fantastic.