My husband and I joined MDVIP because a longtime friend had joined the practice as a physician. We were very impressed with the thorough workup that was performed on both of us and the time that was spent explaining all of the results and suggestions that were given to us to keep us active and healthy.
Six short months after our physicals, my husband (who was an extremely heavy smoker) was complaining of shortness of breath and some chest pain. It was April 28, 2019 at 2pm and I said do you want to go to the ER and he said no. By 7pm he was still having trouble and I said you may have a collapsed lung, lets go to the ER. He said no. I called Dr. Schiano at home and explained what was going on and he got on the phone with my huband and said you may have a collapsed lung. He told us to go to the ER where he called ahead to let them know what was going on and they fast tracked us in. While in the ER they ran blood tests, a chest x-ray and EKG. I was texting Dr. Schiano along the way with the results they were giving us. They saw something they didn't like on the x-ray and sent him for a CT scan. After what seemed like an eternity waiting, the ER doctor came in and said, you have a tumor, probably cancer in your lung. Wow, what a shock. Now 1am, my husband left the room, and the hospital and went outside. When I finally got his paperwork and met up with him outside, he was on the phone with Dr. Schiano. The very next day Kristi from his office called. They worked on getting my husband seen at the Upstate Cancer Center and we had appointments to see a multidisciplinary team that specialized in Lung Cancer. We had appointments for the next week and a biopsy, and port insertion so that he could start Chemo-therapy less than 3 weeks after the tumor was discovered.
We also wanted to make sure that we were getting him the best care we could so we asked Dr. Schiano about us getting a second opinion, and he and the office staff worked to get records sent and appointments set at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in NYC. Without the Dr. Schiano advocating for and his staff setting things up for us, I don't think that my husband would be here today. Turns out he has small cell lung cancer which is very aggressive, and if he hadn't gotten help with all of the legwork required to obtain those appointments, he may not be here.
I want to thank Dr. Schiano and his staff from the bottom of my heart for helping us get through a difficult situation. I don't think we could have done it as quickly and effectively without them. At the time of this note, my husband had a scan that came back clear six short days ago. We continue to credit our amazing care with Dr. Schiano and everyone at our MDVIP office. Thank you!
Patient of Michael T. Schiano, MD
