Where to have your treatments? Chris O'Brien Lifehouse or POW?

Thanks ladies for your comments, they are all very helpful.  I agree it would be best to keep everything under one roof and my treatment team should already have a close working relationship so if things go wrong they would have all the info handy and knows how to work together.

In terms of travelling time, I'll just have to hope for the best that I won't get sick during peak hour jams! :)

Hi, if all things are equal, I think you should choose the closest hospital/clinic to you. I did surgery/radiotherapy at St Vincents and chemo at Northern Cancer Institute (near RNSH). I have spent a small fortune on parking and cross city tunnel tolls...not to mention dealing with traffic jams every now and again.

I didn't need to be hospitalised during my treatment...but if I had, I would have just gone to closest hospital.

I think both POW and Lifehouse are good options. I've used some of the Wellness Clinic services at Lifehouse (again, parking is expensive there!).

Maybe one other thing to consider might be whether they have cold caps. You may want to investigate this option - it worked amazingly well for me. I understand people do use cold caps for the treatment you are going to do. I have heard POW offers it now.

Either way, you have good options.

Welcome to the group Tina :)

I had all my chemo and surgery at POW and RWH . My chemo was the same as yours (except I had Carbo added to my Taxol) and finished in April and I just had surgery last week.

I live 40 minutes from POW. Despite the travel - yes it was annoying - I'm glad I went there. The team were very supportive and organized and they have great emergency facilities.

They did give me the option of getting chemo at a closer hospital, but I wanted to keep everything in the same place to avoid confusion.

I remember my first chemo dose and being petrified. A/C is hardest on the body, Taxol is actually a lot easier. Just remember the body is very resilient and will surprise you. I had neutropenia for 2 months during treatment but thankfully didn't get sick. Organic garlic helps! 

I would consider emergency facilities and communication between the two hospitals. Your oncologist and breast care nurse will need constant communication w your chemo nurses. Blood tests will also have to be done at POW pathology. 

I would definetly ask your oncologist and breast care nurse if they have any issues.

Best of luck with your decision. Stay strong and message me if you have any questions xo

Hi Tina,

is that POW in Sydney? If so I am having my Chemo there and they realy are a good place and well organised.

Having said that you need to be completely comfortable with your team as it is going to be a long treatment so you meed to go with where you feel most comfortable

I am having my AC Chemo at Randwick at present but I live outside of the area and St George is my nearest Hospital. I am being treated at Randwick as I have several serious medical conditions that make me complicated and my ssoecialist kind of converge at POW so made sense I go where they all have access to my records.

Having said that I honestly do think my life would be easier had I had it done locally. AC is not bad as only once every 3 weeks but I did have a few scares with potential infections and can only really speak to POW guys by phone which makes it a bit harder on me. I have managed to avoid Emergency trips this first round and am hoping it stays that way for the next 3 but the thought of having to drive across Sydney in an Emergency or risk going to local hospital where they have no access to my records does give me a hhwadach. In that aspect I wish I was doing it locally.

Also driving to and from Randwick to get Chemo is a pain as 1st time I went on my own but I did notice on the way back that my concentration was impared so I really will have to get someone to take me home next time byt again being out of the area makes that complicated as whomever comes with me now has to drive across Sydney instead of few minutes had I gone locally so it really narrows down my options.

I can definitely see how while it is still managable now when my Chemo is 3 weeks apart it is going to be a pain when I start daily radiation as will have to trapse across Sydney every day for 5 or 6 weeks ??

Another thing to consider is pathology. They have to do several blood tests every round of chemo (to monitor your immune system) and if the 2 hospitals do not use the same lab then you have to travel to the other one so rhey can get results quickly. Technically you can have them done at any pathology collection centre but if not their centre then there are delays and they do not get your results as promptly.

And you will also need to consider follow appointments with the Oncologist, Breast Care Nurse as believe me you will have a lot of contact with her if things go south or you are unsure or have questions, plus any other tests like heart monitoring and such they may want you to have.

All in all it has made my life more difficult in this whole process even though I have managed to avoid Emergency rooms this first round.

If I was doing it again I am honestly notnsure that I would choose to go to an out of area hospital...

Jel.