Why do you feel Cancer Treatment Centers of America is the best option? Aren't there other options that would take your insurance?
It was based a lot on my Tami's wishes plus my wife's interviewing different places for treatment and their approach to the topic. She's been an RN for several years going to school to be an NP, but she will even admit that cancer studies isn't her strongest area, but from the line of questions they seemed like they had a top notch approach.
A secondary reason was that it's located in Glendale, AZ and she has family nearby.
I read a rather enlightening article regarding CTCA that someone else had posted in this thread and perhaps they're not as all cracked up as they would like you to believe. Who knows. I'm sure they do a good job of treatment just like may other places do.
That much said I feel as though I owe everyone a few updates so here goes:
They (Tami and Tom) have decided to pursue treatment at Moore's Cancer Center at UCSD. It's close enough to where they live that he can get her too and fro without a ton of impact on his work and it keeps the kids close by. A very good friend of Tom's who is an oncologist said that's where he would go if it was his wife so they feel it's the best decision.
It also works out because it's going to be covered by their insurance (fucking HMO plans...) but he's already got a case worked assigned from the insurance company to handle it all so from here it's just game on.
So at this point $1,000,000.00 is hardly necessary but at the time I made that original post that was where her heart was set to go and so that's where my heart was with the intent. BTW, FWIW, I wasn't asking the people on this forum board to come up with $1M. The intent was just to seek advise on how to raise that kind of money in a short amount of time. On the other hand, they've still come out of pocket around $35,000.00 already so the family is grateful for any and all donations to help offset the cost of treatment.
Updates on Tami... it's not looking good from a prognosis point of view. They've officially classified her as Stage IVb. The cancer is inoperable - 35 lesions on her liver, one spot in her left lung, and the cancer in her colon has closed the passage down to that the size of a dime. A liver resection to take care of those tumors is not an option on the table at this point.
What she does have going for her is a fighter's spirit, she's relatively young, very active, and was otherwise in good health.
I just really hurt for her and her family. Especially the kids. But she's gonna fight and I pray she comes out the other side of it.
It's been asked by a few in this thread that "what makes her so special?..."
I'll tell you all something special about Tami. Everyone is special in their own right. Here is what I love about Tami. Have you ever met someone that just makes you feel so good to be around? It's like her personality is infectious and everyone who has the chance to be around her is better for it. She's never had it easy even growing up but is just so positive about everything. It makes me wonder why can't I be more like that.
She laughs so easily and finds humor in the smallest of things and it's not just some fake laugh. It's that genuine "belly-laugh" that brings tears and you just can't help but laugh too when you're with her. She's a bit of a goofball and says silly things that just crack you up. But that's just beginning to scratch the surface.
Tami is a listener too. She's just so genuinely interested in everyone around her. You talk to some people and they just nod and do the uh-huh thing but they're really not listening. Tami always takes an interest and asks questions where it's obvious that she's really engaged in what you have to say. That's rare; and it's not just part of the time, it's all of the time with her.
She's creative too. A masterful pianist. Always can come up with something to get out and do. The last time she visited our house she showed up early and my wife was working a 12hr shift that day. Before I even got home from work, Tami had gone to the store, picked up a few groceries, and helped herself to our kitchen, cooked up some eggs, made some egg salad sandwiches and packed them in a cooler with some sodas and chips. I arrived home from work about the same time my own kids were getting home from school and instead of waiting around on the clock until my wife got home, her idea was to go explore some nearby rock formations. So we threw the kids in the car and we all went. I'm not the real big outdoors type so that would have never occurred to me but it wound up being one of the most pleasant afternoons I can remember.
The thing with her is she just loves to live and laugh and go easy. She loves life. Finds the up-shot in anything. Everything she's faced I've never seen any of it get her down. In fact just last weekend visiting her in the hospital ,... here she is in all this pain and suffering cracking jokes and making fun of herself. Apparently the nurses at the hospital were pushing too much IV fluid so her face got all puffy because of it. She was looking at herself in a little compact mirror laughing out loud and taking pictures with her phone! Talking about being layed up after her "so-called" amateur MMA debut!
Special? Indeed she is...
In the bitter place this world can be, it's rare to find people like her. They're out there, but just not a much as they should be. She definitely walks to her own beat and is a real breath of fresh air to be around. To quote some cheesy line from a movie I can't remember the name of.. "She's a positive force in the Universe."