Radiotherapy for cancer treatment

There is a Radiation Therapy unit at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on St Thomas which is the only one in the territory. I have no first hand knowledge of it but, if I ever had the need of any course of RT and had the option of where to go through it, I would go to a stateside facility.

Why do you say that oldtart? Does anyone else have experience or someone they know that has gone through it?

That's rough Tart. They have a state of the art Center that's professionally run. Folks come here to use it.

I worked for several years in one of the top RT facilities in the US (Yale) and know several of the foremost professionals in the field so was curious about the RT facility here from its conception. Maybe it's vastly improved since it was first installed and put into service but I spoke to several RT techs working there (all now moved on) as well as a few of the longtime nurses at the hospital whose patients underwent treatment and came to the conclusion that if I personally ever needed to undergo RT I'd prefer to go elsewhere. Just my own personal opinion. I'm sure there are many, many patients who've successfully undergone treatment there.

My wife received radiation and chemo therapy at the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute (CKCI) which is the center attached to Schneider Hospital. It is a newer, modern facility with modern equipment and modern procedures. During our time there – about two years ago - the people who worked there were top notch. Very professional. And extremely caring.

My wife's step brother is a big time oncologist in the states. I consulted with him before deciding where to go for my wife's treatments. He was familiar with the center on STT and said they were as good as any stateside operation. He recommended we go CKCI to be closer to home and friends – which made the entire ordeal a little less stressful for the both of us.

I instructed the doctors at CKCI to copy my wife's step brother on all reports. And I gave him full authority to intervene at anytime should he feel treatments were not adequate. Never once did he disagree with their courses of action. He found the doctors to be extremely cooperative. And always open to his input.

In the waiting rooms for treatments we often saw the same people (patients) time and again. We heard many success stories. We saw them first hand.

For those living on STX…the hospital and cancer center on STT are nothing like our hospital on STX. They are night and day apart! For anyone in the VI needing radiation or chemo treatment I strongly urge you to research CKCI before jumping to the conclusion that you need to go stateside for good treatment. Dealing with the b-astard disease is hard enough. Doing it closer to home can save a lot of time, money, and energy that could be better used for your fight.

FYI…Seaborne offers discounts for patients flying from STX to and from STT for treatments.

That's good to hear specialk. thanks for your input. Do you know if there is any accommodation available that is nearby at special rates for patients from STX? The process is quite lengthy.

Try the Bellavista-Scott Hotel. They have units with kitchenettes and are within walking distance and have the convenience of being behind Pueblo grocery store. They tell me they have mainly guests with family at the center.

That's good to hear specialk. thanks for your input. Do you know if there is any accommodation available that is nearby at special rates for patients from STX? The process is quite lengthy.

DR...at the time the center had arrangements with the Bellavista-Scott Hotel mentioned by Ronnie. I don't recall what the rates were. But it was cheaper than anything else in the area - all of which charge big time vacation rates. Our room was "very tired". The furnishings were worn, the room was dark...I found it depressiing. I will say that at the time I was told the hotel had just been taken over and was in the process of being updated. I made our reservation last minute. And had asked for a room with a kitchen. So perhaps I ended up with a room they hadn't yet got to. I will say the staff was extremely helpful. It was obvious they cared and were trying to the their best with what they had to work with.

Because my wife's process was also going to be lengthy (Mon-Fri for apprx 3 months) I ended up renting a condo in Mahogany Run on the north shore. That afforded us a home away from home and the ability to maintain some normalcy in our life. Going to STT Mon-Fri became "our job". Flying back to STX for the weekends allowed us to relax in the comfort of our own home. And be in touch with friends and some of the routine things in our life.

Best of luck. Hang tough. Be strong.

Thanks specialk, good advice. I appreciate it.

I am with specialk,
My Daughter was diagnosed while living up in NY and I decided to bring her here to go through chemo to be close to me and so I could care for her and my Grand Daughter. Everything was great, personnel became like family and her treatments went without fail. When ever testing of any sort needed to be done at the hospital, we were escorted to that area and taken care of promptly! I cannot say enough good about our experience here!

I am with specialk,
My Daughter was diagnosed while living up in NY and I decided to bring her here to go through chemo to be close to me and so I could care for her and my Grand Daughter. Everything was great, personnel became like family and her treatments went without fail. When ever testing of any sort needed to be done at the hospital, we were escorted to that area and taken care of promptly! I cannot say enough good about our experience here!

Sherri...We got the same great treatment when tests needed to be done. And yes...many of those people became like family. We never once felt we were going through the ordeal alone. (tu)(tu)(tu)