Never Enough Thank-Yous!

Thank-yous are important; subsequently, I sent another letter to the center and its staff who were the driving force in my treatment/recovery in 2010. 

Great River Cancer Center

1315 W. Agency Road
Burlington, IA  52655

To the Staff:

 

I am one of your former patients and a surviving patient as well.  I was treated by your staff for base of tongue cancer from April 22, 2010 until June 10, 2010.  Naturally, there were numerous pre and post treatment appointments but all my radiation and chemo were provided during the dates mentioned above.  As I recall, I wrote a thank-you note sometime after I began to recover but recent events give me cause to write again.  I will not attempt to mention any of you by name since the passage of time clouds an old person's memory (that would be me), and I assume some folks have left and others arrived since I ceased treatment.  The nature of base of tongue cancer is that those afflicted with the disease tend to become members of a fraternity or sorority and help each other out as each of us charts our own course through the uncertain journey that afflicts us and our loved ones.

You, the special people at the Cancer Center in Burlington, are wonderful for many reasons—small and large.

·         friendly hello from receptionists every day, drawing blood made fun and conversation worthy, appointments were timely coordinated so that driving to Burlington and back to Macomb was doable. 

·         initial prescriptions, then revisions, then more revisions as my body decided how to react along the way and each     time the staff  saying "let's give this a try" always with a positive, “we can do this” tone in their voices.

·        chemotherapy—a great way to spend an entire Friday. You put me in a corner (by my request), gave me bags to throw up in when I was embarrassed to death, brought warm blankets hour after hour, consoled and conferred with my wife, Diane, about what had transpired since my last dose, and almost got me to believe that simultaneous radiation and chemotherapy was a neat combination of activities by which to pass some time.

·         I started at 180 pounds on April 22^nd, and your "diet plan" got me down to 152 on June 10th. The first few days I would stride confidently to the scale, and look at you like you didn't know what you were doing as my weight held steady at 180.  After a couple of weeks "things" changed. The staff watched me walk to what had become "that damn scale," made sure I wouldn't fall down, and even took the rocks out of my pockets in my vain attempt to keep my weight up (not really, but it crossed my mind). Finally, "Gordy, did you bring some music?"  When I handed over Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein CDs which I'm confident were not at the top of anyone's hit parade, you understood.

·         Visits with Dr. McGinnis (ok, I mention one name) and his trusty assistant were particularly enjoyable as they told me what was going to transpire each week and of course, it did—loss of weight, inability to speak or swallow, awful sores in my mouth, infections, a tube in my stomach, and even a little loss of hair.  Dr. M was the swami, he told me every week what was going to happen and then of course, it did, just as he predicted.  Yet, having said that, he and his staff were on call that day and every day to answer Diane’s and my questions, and he continuously reassured me that all was going according to plan.

So, you see, you "guys" were fantastic, but I told you this almost three years ago, and as I talk to other folks struggling with a wide range of cancers, this is not always the case.  I'm told of doctors who don't spend adequate time with patients, of chemo treatments where the patients feel as if they are a burden, of office staff who view patients as an intrusion into an otherwise lovely day, and operations where everyone seems to act independently of other areas of responsibility, and people don't even seem to want to work together.

I think back and it dawns on me that I took the stellar treatment I received for granted.  I just assumed that you would all do a great job—you did!  Over time, I have come to realize that is not always the case and you need to commend yourselves for the thoughtful, considerate, and, yes, I'll say it, loving treatment you provide the patients fortunate to end up in your universe.  That's it—many thanks to everyone.  You're the best, and maybe you just need to hear that from time to time.  Keep up the good work and Godspeed to one and all.