MD Anderson Houston

[showdog]

Can anyone suggest doctors there for cll specialist

[cajunjeff]

I think Weirda, Thompson or Jain would be good choices of the ones I know. The others are probably good too, those are just the ones I know a little bit about. I see Dr Keating there but I think he is still on a leave of absence and i doubt taking new patients.

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

Also...

Jan Burger, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston

Alessandra Ferrajoli, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston

Both are renowned clinical researchers in CLL...

~chris 🇨🇦

[JR1964]

All of the above mentioned are great. My Doctor is Dr. Wierda. MDA is great as well. STAY STRONG JR. 😊😊

[Hidden]

I would see whoever had the first available appointment. You cannot go wrong. The CLL doctors work as a team and they are tops in the field. More importantly, they all have access to exciting drug trials and possess cutting edge knowledge. I have seen Drs. Wierda, Thompson, and Jain over a 4 year period.

[CLLmoxie]

I don’t know where you live but as a native Houstonian who now lives in Dallas and could easily go either place I STRONGLY recommend Dr. Awan at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

[showdog in reply to CLLmoxie]

That's closer than Houston. I live in Tulsa. Thank you

[CLLmoxie in reply to showdog]

I cannot fully express how personal/kind and brilliant this man is. I am quite picky lol and he is the best doc I have ever seen. You should be able to do everything in less than one day. I can help you get an appointment if you wish - but would need info and am not sure how to exchange that here ??? do you

[showdog in reply to CLLmoxie]

Not sure. Can you give out info privately on here

[CLLmoxie in reply to showdog]

I found a private message place and sent you a message. I think you can respond with info there because another person did.

[bigunwill2 in reply to CLLmoxie]

I too recommend Dr. Awan at UTSW. I’ve heard him speak and very impressed. He was brought from university of Ohio to Dallas to make UTSW the CLL speciality in North Texas on par with MDA.

Also check out our CLL support group for DFW. Find meeting times on CLL Society Web site.

[Bama-Girl]

I took first available for my appointment when I went to MDA. I got Dr. Ferrajoli. I have seen her a couple of times. I am well pleased with her.

[showdog]

Thank you

[PCara90]

I see Dr. Ferrajoli there. Can’t say enough good things about her and her entire support staff. I am currently 7 months into a 12 month trial. I was there for treatment #7 of 12 just yesterday. But I agree that you can’t go wrong with any of the specialist at MDA. They know their stuff!

[showdog in reply to PCara90]

Thank you

[KMac1969]

Alessandra Ferrajoli is my doctor.. I love her.. She is great.

[showdog in reply to KMac1969]

Thank you

[Psalm22-3]

I'm a big fan (and patient) of Dr. Wierda and his team. They listen, they take their time, and they know a thing or two about CLL.

[showdog in reply to Psalm22-3]

They want you to be there 3-5 days. Sounds expensive. What all do they do the first time

[Psalm22-3 in reply to showdog]

It takes time simply because diagnosis and treatment planning is an iterative process, from bloodwork to lymph node biopsies to bone marrow biopsies to PET/CTscans, with pathologists in between each result to decide what tests are needed next. If you can get it done in those 3-5 days, it will be well worth it. The uncertainty over prognosis and treatment plan stretches time.

MDA is the place to be--all of that work-up can be done in one place, and with doctors who have seen it all. They could teach courses in corporate culture: Everyone is caring and competent. And when you walk through that overwhelming complex, you'll feel a little more fortunate to "only" have CLL.

There is great hope in our little world, and great reasons for that hope. May you find some on your visit.

[EugeneL2 in reply to showdog]

For my first visit, they asked me to plan for staying 3 to 5 days but ended up everything was done in one day. They took 18 tubes of blood for testing and their research protocol, which I volunteered. The next morning, after looking at the blood results, they contacted me to let me go and scheduled the next visit 12 months later. They did CBC, CD4/CD8 ratio, flow cytometry, Fish test, IGHV test, 29 CLL gene panel analysis, reticulocyte test, HIV, HBV, HCV, HTLV, metabolic panel, blood chemistry, thyroid function, immunoglobin levels, DAT, haptoglobin, beta2M, and others. These tests yielded a lot of results and insights. I highly recommend MD Anderson for your needs.

[showdog in reply to EugeneL2]

Thanks. What I'd your blood test are pretty recent. Do they make you redo them

[EugeneL2 in reply to showdog]

Yes, I had my fish and IGVH tests done just a few months before the visit. They did Fish and IGVH again and yielded similar results. They wanted to have a comprehensive landscape of what each patient is facing during the first visit.

[showdog in reply to EugeneL2]

Ok 3-5 days there sounded long. I hope its not

[Kmiller]

I see Dr. Thompson, and just love him. I see him Friday, as a matter of fact.

[17Pisme]

I have had both Weirda and Jain and both are great. I believe Burger is research only and not taking patients.

[Murphy1021]

I’ve been seeing Dr. Ferrajoli there for three years. I would highly recommend her.

[Hidden]

You might see if there is a medical place in your local area is affiliated with MDA. It saves the travel and the work can be performed locally rather than traveling to Houston. My Hemo Dr. consults with the CLL team regularly since they have an affiliation. Just a thought.

[showdog in reply to Hidden]

My doc has an affiliation but dont know if it's current. Seeing him today thank you so much

[Lisa-1959 in reply to showdog]

If you are going to a doctor at Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, they are an affiliate of MDA; however, my oncologist recommended that I actually go to MDA for an initial visit. Now that I have that behind me, she is following their recommendations for treatment, and it is working out very well.

[Lisa-1959 in reply to Lisa-1959]

I need to clarify one thing. After not doing well on my initial treatment and facing a changing in meds, I actually requested the involvement of a doctor from MDA. I had hoped since the facility was an affiliate of MDA that my local oncologist could share medical records with one of their doctors and get an opinion on how to proceed; however, I learned that affiliate and branch are two different things. They are willing to work with MDA recommendations, but I had to go there to get a baseline assessment.

[BCpsych]

I've been in a clinical trial at MDA with Dr. Takahashi. He and his team are outstanding. He works with Dr. Weida and the others. Treats me like I'm the only patient he has to see in a day, which of course isn't close to true, but they make you feel that way. Great care. MDA is an amazing place. Best of luck to you.

[yalc58]

any recommendations for CLL specialists in San Antonio?

[Lisa-1959]

I live in the Tulsa metro and went to MDA the week before Christmas. I asked for Dr. Keating, but he was not available, so I was assigned to Dr. Thompson. I was very impressed and am pleased with his recommendations. My local oncologist (the entity is an affiliate of MDA) is working with his recommendations, and I am doing well.

Unfortunately the 3-5 day prediction turned out to be correct for me, but it may have been due to it being the week before Christmas. I had appointments all day Tuesday and then nothing until Friday; however, my husband and I hit some of the museums in the area and also connected with one of my college roommates!

I am VERY glad I went to MDA...will go back again in August once I finish 6 months of Rituxin in combo with Venetoclax. Having the specialist as part of my care team is very reassuring!

[showdog in reply to Lisa-1959]

Thank you

[Lisa-1959 in reply to showdog]

Don't know if you saw my comments on another post in this thread, but I feel sure we are both going to the same facility in Tulsa. Hope you were able to find out some more information when you saw your oncologist today.

[suebb]

We love Dr. Wierda, but have seen many of the other doctors (they work as a team, particularly when you're hospitalized). My husband also was on Dr. Thompson's study at one point, and he's great too. MD Anderson is keeping my husband alive because they are willing to try so many new things. You can't go wrong with the place.

[MichelleM61]

I went to Dr. Jain 3 years old for my CLL. I highly recommend. I live in Broken Arrow and my oncologist here is Dr. Charles Strnad at OSCRI.

[CLLmoxie]

Dr Ferrukh Awan now at UT Southwestern in Dallas (formerly at Ohio State) and touted as best CLL specialist in US is awesome. He did all of the tests mentioned above, a salivary DNA profile and anything else needed for your particular situation.

My regular hem/onc classified me as Stage 0 W&W and with his much more thorough evaluation, I am between Stage 1-2 and going to receive treatment because of my debilitating fatigue. I grew up in Houston and have been very familiar with MDA my entire life. I am not trying to suggest that anyone happy with their care there should make a change. But as a physician who has researched all possibilities, I would choose Dr. Awan hands down and although I live in Dallas now - I would travel from anywhere in US to see him, if needed.

[bigunwill2 in reply to CLLmoxie]

Please join our DFW CLL group. You can find meeting times on CLLSociety web page. We’ve been meeting about 1 year.

[showdog in reply to bigunwill2]

Ok thanks

[CLLmoxie]

Also, after your initial evaluation - Dr Awan is very happy to work with your local oncologist if you desire.

[bigunwill2]

Our next meeting is this Sunday, April 28 in Dallas at 3.

[showdog in reply to bigunwill2]

Wow I work on Sunday