[KMac]

Caregive,

I understand both City of Hope and Fred Hutchinson are excellent hospitals. I doubt you'd be doing wrong at either. Only you and your husband can make the decision of course, but I see a number of things weighing in favor of Fred Hutchinson for your personal situation:

1) As Ruth said, they have such great transplant statistics.

2) Also as Ruth said, leaving your home area for treatment adds a whole other difficult dimension to everything else you are dealing with. I'm glad to hear you are both still connecting to the landscape around you and going hiking. I think home and that connection to what surrounds it counts for something in recovery, although I doubt it has been quantified in studies. And this would seem especially valid in your case, as you mentioned your husband is not excited at the prospect of picking up and going on that long haul to CA.

3) From personal experience, my hematologists at CBCI in Denver have all worked at Fred Hutch, and I've been very pleased and impressed with each of them.

4) As you mention your husband's interest in alternative treatment, my doctor (Dr. Nash at CBCI) has told me Fred Hutchinson does extensive work integrating alternative therapies into their treatment plan. I believe there is an alternative center there in Seattle that they work with directly.

...none of this is to discount City of Hope in any way. We are fortunate that while in some parts of the world patients cannot get the treatment they need, our dilemma is in choosing between multiple excellent options.