So I had my pleurectomy at Eastern Virginia Medical Center back in August after getting diagnosed in June. Before I picked them I talked to maybe four or five places and honestly the difference between a good center and a mediocre one is huge when you're already sick.
First thing I did was ask each place how many pleural meso cases they actually do per year. Not total cancer cases. Pleural meso specifically. One place told me they do about 8 to 12 a year and that felt right. Another one said they do a bunch but couldn't give me a number which was a red flag, so I crossed them off.
Second, I wanted to know if they had a dedicated thoracic surgeon who does this stuff regularly versus somebody who does it once in a while. Big difference. My surgeon at EVMC, Dr. Kellerman, he's done this procedure probably fifty plus times. You can tell when somebody knows what they're doing versus when they're learning on the job.
Third thing was asking about their multimodal approach. Stage II usually means chemo before surgery, surgery, maybe radiation after. I wanted one place that had all three specialists in house or at least working together tight, not me shuttling around to different hospitals. EVMC had that figured out and it made recovery a lot smoother.
Also asked about their follow-up imaging schedule and what they do if something shows up between appointments. That matters more than people think because you need to know somebody's got your back if something goes sideways.
Don't just go to the biggest name hospital either. Sometimes a smaller center that specializes in this stuff is better than a giant place where meso is just another case to them. I'm retired Navy so I'm used to doing the legwork myself. Make some calls. Ask the hard questions. You're trusting these people with your life.