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As a retired teacher, I really appreciate the importance of ¡°checking for understanding.¡±  

That¡¯s one reason I¡¯ve been so impressed with MD Anderson. Everyone my husband Rod and I have encountered there so far has done just that. They¡¯ve all wanted to make sure we understood precisely what was going on and why, at every step of his treatment for stage IV melanoma. That¡¯s not something you find at every hospital. 

Here¡¯s a more detailed look at the ways they¡¯ve exceeded our expectations.  

Checking for understanding

Any time we¡¯ve had questions about some aspect of Rod¡¯s treatment, someone would take the time to explain whatever was confusing us and make sure we understood their answers. That was true whether we asked why a doctor made a particular recommendation or how to deal with a certain side effect. And, if they couldn¡¯t do it, they¡¯d bring in other people who could explain it better. 

One nurse sat in a room with us for 45 minutes explaining targeted therapy, as well as how the specific drugs being recommended for Rod would work and what we could expect once he started taking them.  

When I had to call Patient Advocacy one time because I didn¡¯t understand a few terms on Rod¡¯s pathology report, they connected me with a doctor who spent 20 minutes on the phone explaining it until I understood. That¡¯s exceptional customer service. 

Reducing scanxiety while waiting for results

MD Anderson is thoughtful in other ways, too. They know that patients and caregivers can get very anxious while waiting to hear the results of tests and scans. So, if it was going to be more than a few minutes before Rod¡¯s doctor could see us, his care team would have a physician¡¯s assistant pop into our exam room, just to let us know when his scans were OK. Then we could relax and not worry so much! 

That level of consideration also helped us understand why Rod¡¯s doctors might be running late in the first place. Our own experience had taught us that they took as much time as necessary with each patient. So, one day, Rod turned to me after we¡¯d been waiting a while and said, ¡°Maybe the reason is that somebody¡¯s getting bad news.¡±  

I asked one of the nurses later if that was the case, and she said it probably was. Then, I asked her, ¡°How do you deal with that when it happens?¡± She told me that sometimes, care teams all got together at the end of the day and just cried. They really do care about their patients. 

Convenient locations and personalized treatments

When Rod and I first came to MD Anderson in 2014, we considered it a true blessing that we only lived about five hours away from the Texas Medical Center Campus. But when MD Anderson The Woodlands opened in October 2019, we were even more thrilled. 

Being able to get some of Rod¡¯s treatments and checkups there has been wonderful. That location shaves two full hours off our drive time. Everyone there is just as personable and knowledgeable. And, the parking¡¯s free!  

The staff there even learned what type of music Rod likes best, so that they could have it queued up and ready to go whenever he came in for treatments. That¡¯s the kind of thoughtful care that MD Anderson is known for. And that¡¯s what has made us fans for life. 

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