Last week I ventured to part of the hospital that I have zero experience in, and I have been to several areas. From getting my Thyrogen injections at outpatient chemo to reconstructive surgery, my MD Anderson passport is filled with many stamps to say the least. Sure, I passed by this clinic briefly when my endocrine oncology surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Grubbs was part time at Flex Clinic / Gastroenterology. Going in is completely different. Where am I talking about? The Robin Bush Child and Adolescent Clinic. The AYA clinic is located here, think of it like a clinic in a clinic.

I have been a patient at MD Anderson since 2017. The AYA clinic opened in 2018. I am writing this in 2019. I attended the 2019 MD Anderson Young Adult Conference and was able to meet some of the staff there. I requested a consult from my awesome oncologist Dr. Jeena Varghese at my home clinic Endocrine Center. She was more than happy to refer me and we discussed some AYA related issues. The referral is painless, they just put in the system and it will get scheduled. I had to reschedule for a month later but they could have seen me that week.

Now, if you are on the pediatric side of MD Anderson, just skip ahead. You already know what I’m about to explain. I’m talking to you: adult side of AYA!* I’m not trying to scare you, but to prepare you. My dear adult side, you know MD Anderson. Its formulaic to say the least. And if we are being completely honest here, it’s almost comforting. You could go to any clinic any pretty much know how it goes, with the exception of unfamiliar imaging or procedures. Even my two surgeries were nearly identical. Darling adult side…throw that out. THROW IT OUT I SAID. There will be a new waiting room just for us very soon, but until then your girl is going to walk you through this. We are a team after all.

(* In the AYA community, we use the terms “pediatric side” (treated at pediatrics with children) or “adult side” (treated at “adult” clinics with significantly older patients) to identify where we are treated. This is a complicated issue because where you are sent for treatment varies by hospital and even cancer type within the same hospital. Until AYA’s have our own clinics/hospital floors we will continue to use this identifier.)

You will walk into the clinic for check in. Do not let the noise fear you, this assures that you are in the correct place. BE STRONG! There is no iPad/electronic sign in. Instead, there is a table in the front area to the right with paper slips that you will fill out and return to the front desk. I suffer from chronic directional issues so it took me more times than I would like to admit to find this table. This is a me problem, not clinic issue. Thank you front desk staff for loving me through that challenging time. I filled out my paper slip (essentially what you would do on iPad) and returned to the front desk. I sat down on significantly more comfortable seating than in any adult clinic I have been in. Those couch things are NICE.

I was called up to the front to get my wristband, be prepared to answer more infection control related questions than you do in adult outpatient. They will be talking at a much higher volume than you are used to. They are not yelling at you, this is the default tone because the clinic is loud. Unlike adult side, your band will get a sticker. I know that is so small, but it made me so happy all day! I wish adult outpatients would do that, and boy I have some ideas. If you go to radiology you could get glow sticker. Or a ribbon sticker for whatever home clinic is. Make this happen guys!

My dear adult side, your waiting room experience will be much different. You will get a concert experience from the xylophones. Nurses may come out chasing down patients. Names may be screamed. Random shouts of joy will come from the playroom. You aren’t in Kansas anymore, baby. But, there is something wonderful in knowing that MD Anderson has a completely different universe tucked away. I say embrace it! I would have NEVER experienced this in my cancer care and now I feel more connected to my pediatric side AYA’s. In some way this brought a much needed balance of youth to my sterile 50-and-up cancer experience. I look forward to returning. I wanted to let you know this if you are prone to anxiety at noise or chaos, which I respect. But good news: you probably won’t have to wait long at all! You heard me. Your wait at pediatrics will be NOTHING compared to what I KNOW you have experienced in adult land.

Rest easy though, your waiting room paper work is exactly the same as adult. You will be called back to the vitals room. Go ahead and take your shoes off (why don’t we do this in adult?) since they will request it. It will be typical MD Anderson vitals but your height will be checked too for the ~full pediatric experience~. You will go back to a exam room while passing by colorful walls and adorable art work. In Pedi-Land your name will be on a dry erase board on the door of your exam room. And wouldn’t you know, they had “Alexa” in a beautiful purple color waiting for me. Who found out my favorite color (I will nominate you for a STAR award)??

The nurse will ask you the typical MD Anderson clinic visit questions you are used to, but I was asked several additional questions related to symptoms/side effects. You got this! They will apologize for the “wait” you are about to have of maybe 5 minutes. What on earth? Do you not know I have waited 5 hours to see a doctor before?? Gosh.

On your MyChart you will see 3 things scheduled. 1. Main AYA Provider (This will either be Dr. Michael Roth or Dr. John Livingston) 2. AYA Social Work Consult (I believe they have a few social workers so this might vary? I am not completely sure.) 3. I forget exactly how this was listed in MyChart, I think AYA Vocational Consult? Who you will see for that is Sandra Medina-George. Pay no attention to the order scheduled, it doesn’t matter. You will be in the same room and they will come in and out whenever they are available. Since I am telling you my experience, I will share in the order I had:

• Vocational Consult with Sandra Medina-George: I have on a very high up and credible anonymous source that Ms. Sandra is so beloved that she is not allowed to retire. In fact, if cloning becomes commonplace I assume the AYA clinic will attempt this instead of hiring someone else. She can help with anything career related, including helping you find a first career or with a career change. She can also help with finding a university or with AYA related university issues. I learned about some testing that I will do at a later time. She also educated me and answered questions on career and education. I really enjoyed our visit and look forward with working with her so I can live my best life. Trust me: she won’t judge you. This is a safe place to talk about your goals and where you have been or are, even if you aren’t happy with where things are right now.

• Social Work: I will leave out name since it is not listed on the AYA clinic page and do not know if identification would be an issue. She was incredible and I gained a lot out of this. I learned about resources I was unaware of, and the best part? I got a question answered that bothered me on a daily basis. I think I was too scared to ask anybody before but she answered it. I am happy to report that I can state that I am still on active treatment for cancer vs saying it’s complicated and blabbering on. I told my family when I got home that this was one of the best parts of my visit. You will still have your home clinic social worker, but now you have two!

• Consult with Dr. Michael Roth: I really enjoyed meeting with Dr. Roth. He is warm and compassionate. He deeply understands AYA issues and was very reassuring/encouraging to me. It was Jamaican chicken soup (my favorite chicken soup) for the AYA soul. I am intentionally leaving this open ended because your medical consult will vary GREATLY depending on your diagnosis. But, I’m your thyroid cancer gal and I will say he was great for thyroid cancer. Endocrine Center, refer with confidence! I will also go out and co-sign Dr. Livingston here. He spoke at the conference and seems just as committed to the cause. I really believe you will be in excellent hands with either doctor.

I left with lots of papers, resources,and my love tank filled. I want to make something very clear: You are welcome here! I NEVER felt less than due to being a thyroid cancer patient by anyone! I feel Dr. Roth was just as concerned about me as I assume he would with any other cancer type.Point goes to AYA clinic.

If you are an AYA, REGARDLESS OF CANCER TYPE, you need to go. If you are an AYA on the adult side, YOU REALLY, REALLY, REALLLLLLLLLYYYY NEED TO GO!

Let me answer some questions:

• But Alexa, my cancer is/was being treated just fine in adult land, do I really need to go? YES! ESPECIALLY YOU! You saw me state I have the best oncologist ever earlier in my post, right? And I’m saying you need to go! You keep your oncology team, this is supportive care. You will benefit greatly.

• I didn’t see anything in your post that would help me, why should I go? Because, this was my appointment. This is so hyper tailored that we could have completely different visits even if the formula is the same. I bet if you asked the staff they would probably tell you the same thing. I genuinely believe you can gather some benefit from a visit even if I didn’t cover it. Go.

• I’m on the pediatric side, can they help me too? Okay, I can’t answer this 100% because I don’t know what you are offered by default on the pediatric side, but I’m going to say yes. There is so much they can do I don’t see why they can’t help. I will probably ask someone there for a better answer to this question.

• (Any possible question I didn’t answer here), should I still go? Yes. I cannot think of a situation where I would say nah, don’t go. This clinic is incredible and my only complaint is I could not see them when I was diagnosed.

I am so glad MD Anderson is leading the way with the AYA clinic and it is my sincere hope that AYA’s will have this experience wherever they were treated in the future. I will report back to my home clinic on my positive experience and hopefully help other adult side endocrine AYA’s by doing so!