This is a great forum where I've been able to gain so much information and most importantly, hope. Thanks to all who share their knowledge here.
My father was recently diagnosed with PC. He's 69, his highest PSA was 16 and his Gleason's score was 3+4=7. The dr. felt a palpable mass on one side only. He just had bone and CT scans which came up negative for any obvious spreading. We now want to get a second opinion on the biopsy results. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a place to go for a second opinion. I'd like to choose somewhere that is renown in the field. If you have several suggestions, please list those as well.
Thank you very much!
Last edited by Dad1939; 08-20-2008 at 08:14 AM.
Reason: Left something out
I recommend Sloan-Kettering for a second opinion on the biopsy. Their prostate pathology lab is world reknowned and prostate biopsies are all that lab looks at as compared to most commercial labs which don't specialize in prostate biopsies.
I was the same age as your dad when diagnosed and went to Sloan for a radical prostatectomy which was performed by Dr. Peter Scardino, then head of the prostate surgery program and now head of all surgery at Sloan. Since you're in NYC its very convenient and they treat patients like gold. However you may need to set up a consultation for either surgery or radiation treatment by one of Sloan's specialists in order to have the necessary referral for a second opinion on the biopsy. I don't think you can just walk in and send your dad's slides straight to their lab. In my case I had an appt. with Dr. Scardino and his nurse requested that my lab send the slides in advance to their lab for review before I had my appt. Sloan-Kettering only trusts their own pathologists to review biopsies and stage and grade prostate cancer for their Dr's.
Go to their website and click on "Find a Physician" in the prostate cancer Dept. Dr. Bertrand Guillonneau is chief of the minimally invasive prostate cancer dept.and the world reknowned robotic surgery pioneer from Paris who was recruited to head Sloan's robotic program 5 years ago. There are many other top prostate cancer specialists, radiation/oncologists,etc whose names I don't know but are listed in their websites' directory. Hope this is some help.
Good Luck with your dad, Bob
... We now want to get a second opinion on the biopsy results. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a place to go for a second opinion.
You might want to check out Bostwick Laboratories- I think that would be a good choice for a second opinion. I did get a second opinion after my 3+4=7 Gleason score, and the initial result was confirmed. It was fairly easy to do-- the hospital lab that had my slides just sent them on after I made a request.
I actually had a third check too. Prior to my consultation appointment at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, they required that I have the slides sent in advance as well so they could check them too. That's where I ended up going for my treatment which ended last November. Even though it's a ways to travel, you might want to check this option too. (I was 64 and had initially chosen robotic surgery, but ruled that out after my most thorough investigation of proton radiation. The book that got me started is a very widely read one now on the topic of prostate cancer- You Can Beat Prostate Cancer, by Robert Marckini.)
If you think you may have any interest in learning about this, I'd advise you to schedule a consultation, since a backlog has been developing with more and more publicity on this treatment alternative. The most recent was a report on NBC's Today Show and Nightly News by George Lewis, a network journalist, who completed his treatment on the west coast, at Loma Linda University.
YOU HAD PROTON BEAM THERAPY? Did you insurance pay for it? WHat was the cost?
Quote:
Originally Posted by daff
You might want to check out Bostwick Laboratories- I think that would be a good choice for a second opinion. I did get a second opinion after my 3+4=7 Gleason score, and the initial result was confirmed. It was fairly easy to do-- the hospital lab that had my slides just sent them on after I made a request.
I actually had a third check too. Prior to my consultation appointment at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, they required that I have the slides sent in advance as well so they could check them too. That's where I ended up going for my treatment which ended last November. Even though it's a ways to travel, you might want to check this option too. (I was 64 and had initially chosen robotic surgery, but ruled that out after my most thorough investigation of proton radiation. The book that got me started is a very widely read one now on the topic of prostate cancer- You Can Beat Prostate Cancer, by Robert Marckini.)
If you think you may have any interest in learning about this, I'd advise you to schedule a consultation, since a backlog has been developing with more and more publicity on this treatment alternative. The most recent was a report on NBC's Today Show and Nightly News by George Lewis, a network journalist, who completed his treatment on the west coast, at Loma Linda University.
YOU HAD PROTON BEAM THERAPY? Did you insurance pay for it? WHat was the cost?
Yes, CIGNA insurance did pay for this. I was responsible for my family out of pocket maximum of about $4500, but after that, 100% was paid. I think the entire cost was about $100,000. (It's less costly at Loma Linda, since they've been operating since the early 1990s and have no doubt recovered much of the fixed investment which is now substantial at $125 million or more for a proton beam facility. I went to a great facility too- University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville.)
There are a considerable number of insurance companies that cover this. You can learn a lot about all this, as well as why this is a treatment alternative that's very compelling to at least look at, in Robert Marckini's book, You Can Beat Prostate Cancer. I've posted quite a bit about proton radiation on this board, so you might want to look at some of these.
I'll probably be off the board for close to two weeks, but if you read this and have any quick questions, I'll be around for part of the morning tomorrow.
