Seattle -- looking for info./advice re: MBC treatment options/ locations ....
Hi all — my beau and I are likely to be moving to the Seattle area next spring (exact area not decided yet). I am looking for info. / advice regarding where to get MBC treatment and tips re: transportation and other practical advice. I am generally aware of Fred Hutch, but again am looking for practical tips about getting around to appointments — like transporation options, parking, locations for scans, locations for treatment (depending on what my treatment may be at the time), how hard is it to get a scan scheduled, etc. Also, anyone have an MO they really love?
I am currently in the DC area and am able to metro to my MO's office, where I get Tx, also able to metro and take a shuttle to the hospital where I get scans. Am currently on Enhertu, so I go to my MO's office every 3 weeks and head to the hospital every few months for scans. I admit I am spoiled w/ the options here in this area. My MO will likely have someone in Seattle that he'll refer me to for treatement, but again, just wondering how folks get around out there for treatment. I'm still at a point where I'm doing okay in terms of mobility, but that may change and my beau may need to chauffeur me around so I'm asking in part for his sake.
Thanks for any tips / advice you can provide!
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Fred Hutch is supposed to be really good and it’s centrally located. I go to Kaiser but you have to have Kaiser insurance to go there. They are also centrally located. They have all the scan machines right there and all the medical departments, including palliative care and counseling. Swedish Cancer Center is also good from what I hear. As well as Polyclinic. There are lots of options here!
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I second everything AJ has said. I would add too, that if you live in the city you might be able to use the bus, etc., but if you live outside of the main urban area, you would most definitely need to drive and pay to park. Traffic has gotten consistently worse over the years. Also in addition to Fred Hutch, Swedish, and the Polyclinic, some people really like Virginia Mason (Franciscan). Fred Hutch has their main facility down in the city proper, in an area called Lake Union, but they also have a couple of satellite facilities; one on the Eastside at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, and another at the UW Northwest (old Northwest Hospital) in the North Seattle residential area. (My parents were DC natives, but came out here and stayed during the Korean War - long, long time ago.)
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@threetree , I forgot about Virginia Mason! They’re good too!
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AJ - You know I find it easy to forget about Virginia Mason too, but I've heard of a lot of people getting great cancer care there. It's also one of the few old "original" Seattle hospitals left, although it has been taken over by Franciscan Health. I have an old friend who has been living with stage 4 pancreatic cancer for close to 18 years now, and she was treated at Virginia Mason. (I was actually born there way back at the end of '52 - ha, ha!)
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Thanks AJ and threetree for your posts! It's great to know that there are several options for treatment. I know my MO here in DC knows people at Fred Hutch, but he probably has connections at some of the other centers, too, so I'll see who he recommends as far as a new MO and that may help me figure out where to go for treatment. Thanks again for sharing your insights — it's always so helpful to hear from folks who are actually living there and who know what the situation is really like.
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@pirate_girl , you’re welcome! Let us know what you do!
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@pirate_girl there is a pretty active metastatic BC group on Facebook. We are all from the Seattle area. Great place to get local info and support.
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Perky2020 - Would you mind telling me the name of the Facebook group you are referring to? My Facebook got hacked real badly about a year or two ago and I have never gotten it fixed nor known how to, but I might just start a new account. If I do, I would like very much to see a local Facebook group about metastatic breast cancer. Thanks.
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@perky2020 I’d like that information too.
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Here is a link to the Seattle metastatic BC group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/707193732702900/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
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Thanks very much, Perky. It won't let me even have a cursory look without creating a new account, but I just might sometime soon. Don't even know if I have my old password, etc.
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@perky2020 Thanks! Just joined!
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hey @perky2020 — thanks so much for the FB suggestion — I will take a look
again, thanks to everyone for responding to me
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