dear Tiffany,
be prepared for your father to be irrational.
the moment a person finds out they have cancer they feel lost. the first doctor to act the least bit compassionate about their cancer is suddenly their one and only hope for survival. it is a sight to behold how a once strong and independent person becomes a quivering mass of doubt and indecision willing to go with the first thing that comes along.
if you are getting your taxes audited by the IRS, you would seek out the best tax lawyers you could find, not the first accountant you come across. why treat cancer less aggressively than you would treat an IRS audit? seek out the best specialists. most people have to fly hundreds of miles to get to a facility in the top 10. and you live just down the road from one. Jesus.
i would not have my dog put down in Raleigh, NC. they are practicing medicine that is perhaps 5 years behind the times. For God's sake, at least get your father to Duke for a "second opinion" and tell them what you said in your base note about how they were going to treat his cancer in Raleigh. If you have a stopwatch, let us know how long it took them once they heard the plan for them to stop laughing.
but if you think it will be easy convincing your dad to switch to the Duke doctors once he has built up a relationship with the Raleigh doctors, you are dead wrong. unfortunately, so will he.
tough love is tough,
-Amnia