Is Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial hospital comparable to Johns Hospital in Baltimore and Georgetown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:54 again
If I had to do it again, I would use Sibley. I would prefer care nearer my Arlington home, especially daily trips for radiation.
Clean mammogram end of June!

Good to hear you had clean mammogram. It’s becoming so stressful to do the mammogram every six months.

Will you do breast mri too?

Yes. I was found to have ADH by MRI several years ago. Mammogram completely missed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took a look. Inova Shar is 12 miles from Sibley. About half an hour avoiding highways.

I live 8 miles away from Sibley.
I would pick an NCI certified place and a great surgeon.
Sibley imo has a great one in Dr Tran. I told her take all you want and have clean margins. I was early stage invasive ductal. Very small. Because I didn't want to risk arm edema I wanted no sentinal nodes taken. She went to tumor board and I have all my nodes.
That is why I chose whole breast radiation.

Did radiation change the look of your breast? How long did you do the radiation?

I had 15 rounds of radiation, 5 days a week so 2.5 weeks. They make a mold to lie in and do a simulation run about a week or two before it starts. I drove myself after the first time. You get free parking spaces in the outdoor lot. Yay!

The last 5 sessions my skin got very tender. A bit pink but not sunburned looking. Depends on your skin. Also using lotion they tell you to use. Bras are tricky depending where your target box is. Mine ended under most bra bands. I didn't wear oneca couple of weeks. It hurts more afterwards, you still are "cooking" and there is cyclical fatigue.
Important to do the exercises before and after for range of motion.

Before radiation, my breast looked pretty much as before. Dr. Tran really does invisible incisions.
A year later, I have a dimple where the tumor was. Probably the radiation effect. It's like a crease.
I have fatty breast tissue. Dense tissue may react differently. Also I am older.

But getting any little lurker cells in my target box is well worth it.

OP, thank you for asking. I haven't told anyone besides DH and my doctors I had cancer. Writing to you is helpful.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing. We all need hugs. It’s such an exhausting journey. I haven’t decided whether to tell my boss and colleagues about the diagnosis yet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took a look. Inova Shar is 12 miles from Sibley. About half an hour avoiding highways.

I live 8 miles away from Sibley.
I would pick an NCI certified place and a great surgeon.
Sibley imo has a great one in Dr Tran. I told her take all you want and have clean margins. I was early stage invasive ductal. Very small. Because I didn't want to risk arm edema I wanted no sentinal nodes taken. She went to tumor board and I have all my nodes.
That is why I chose whole breast radiation.

Did radiation change the look of your breast? How long did you do the radiation?

I had 15 rounds of radiation, 5 days a week so 2.5 weeks. They make a mold to lie in and do a simulation run about a week or two before it starts. I drove myself after the first time. You get free parking spaces in the outdoor lot. Yay!

The last 5 sessions my skin got very tender. A bit pink but not sunburned looking. Depends on your skin. Also using lotion they tell you to use. Bras are tricky depending where your target box is. Mine ended under most bra bands. I didn't wear oneca couple of weeks. It hurts more afterwards, you still are "cooking" and there is cyclical fatigue.
Important to do the exercises before and after for range of motion.

Before radiation, my breast looked pretty much as before. Dr. Tran really does invisible incisions.
A year later, I have a dimple where the tumor was. Probably the radiation effect. It's like a crease.
I have fatty breast tissue. Dense tissue may react differently. Also I am older.

But getting any little lurker cells in my target box is well worth it.

OP, thank you for asking. I haven't told anyone besides DH and my doctors I had cancer. Writing to you is helpful.

[Anonymous]

Isn't there a Hopkins location in North Bethesda, affiliated with Suburban? I think it's a Hopkins satellite office. Dr. Wright and Dr. Sun are the surgeons there. I'm not sure how their reputation compares to Sibley or to the Baltimore Hopkins location. Can anyone weigh in?

[Anonymous]

^ it's the Comprehensive Breast care Center at Suburban

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/breast-health-services/suburban-hospital

Are they NCI certified?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ it's the Comprehensive Breast care Center at Suburban

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/breast-health-services/suburban-hospital

Are they NCI certified?

The government site lists this:

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
Comprehensive Cancer Center

https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers/find#Maryland

The Kimmel Cancer Center‘s own website lists both Sibley and Surburban as their practice locations. So they may be considered NCI designated too. If you really want to be sure, you can call Surburban and ask.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel-cancer-center/locations

[Anonymous]

Who would pick Sibley over Georgetown? If you can get to Sibley you can get to Georgetown easily too

[Anonymous]

N to Georgetown hell no

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:N to Georgetown hell no

Can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

I did pick Sibley. Went to Georgetown with DH for some second opinions for him and place creeped me out, including parking.
I would not want to go there repeatedly. Sibley is closer over Chain Bridge anyway.

Dr. Wright https://profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org/provider/Jean+Wright/2703182

and
https://profiles.hopkinsmedicine.org/provider/Hanh-Tam+Tran/2709020
Dr. Tran were excellent. You want an excellent surgeon. Getting it all and clean margins first time is important.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard of Dr Greenwalt at Georgetown?

[Anonymous]

I went to Suburban and had excellent care.

[Anonymous]

I go to Hopkins in Baltimore for imaging, have had two surgeries and multiple needle biopsies there, and have a breast surgeon and oncologist there. I did radiation closer to home, but was/am happy to drive to Baltimore for everything else. No experience with Sibley, but it doesn't have to be all Baltimore or nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who would pick Sibley over Georgetown? If you can get to Sibley you can get to Georgetown easily too

Is Georgetown clearly considered better? This thread is frustrating because people keep making blanket statements without anything to back it up. Why is Georgetown so clearly better than Sibley that it's not even a question? I and other people on this thread have a need for real information that goes beyond, x is good or x is bad. Thanks for anyone who can give a bit of time to write a little more.

[Anonymous]

Sibley is NCI designated as part of John’s Hopkins Sidney Kimmel cancer center. The following is from their own website:

As part of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, we are part of the only cancer center in Maryland to carry the National Cancer Institute’s designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, and one of just 41 such centers in the U.S. The care we provide is integrated with the center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and other Johns Hopkins locations. This gives our local team of physicians access to the newest therapies, treatments and research to assist in developing and delivering a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel-cancer-center/locations/sibley#:~:text=As%20part%20of%20the%20Sidney%20Kimmel%20Comprehensive%20Cancer%20Center%20at,the%20center%20at%20The%20Johns