A question of logistics

We really have the best of both worlds, logistically.

All of the chemotherapy and radiation therapy can (and will) be done at the Central Vermont Medical Center near Montpelier — only 35 minutes from our house. And I’ll be able to drive myself to almost all of these appointments myself. Yea! Unsurprisingly, the hospital is small, comfortable, and friendly. Perhaps more surprisingly (given its size) it’s quite up-to-date: no worries about anything less than 2017 best practices.

Everything having to do with each surgery will be all the way down at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. That’s a full 90 minutes away near Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. It’s big! I was very well cared for during and after my first surgery — and nurses and doctors at CVMC have been very impressed with the quality of the “port” which allows them to get blood samples and infuse chemotherapy chemicals without poking me each time for an IV.

The medical centers are fairly closely linked, and there has been no problem coordinating services, therapies, medical records, &c., between the two. Yea!

The surgeon who will perform the esophagectomy in November is one of the very best in his field anywhere. The procedure in the United States has a 97.5% success rate; Dr. David Finlay has a 99.6% rate. And, though only 2,000 of these surgeries are performed each year in the U.S., Dr. Finlay has done well over 200 of them. I’m in very good hands.