Hospital selection

rogermoore

Can you guys give me some insight on your experiences at: Johns Hopkins, M.D. Anderson, Vanderbilt, Mao Clinic, or Birmingham in Al.

Thanks

joeyray

In May 2002 at the age of 44 i had RP surgery at Johns Hopkins.After doing a lot of research i choose to go to Hopkins and was honored to have one of the best surgeons in the country perform my surgery Dr. Patrick Walsh.The hospital and staff were all wonderful A+++.Would highly recommend Johns Hopkins.

dakotarunner

I had RP at Mayo in Rochester on 1/29/04. It is a great place. Everything (all hospitals and clinic) are under Mayo for insurance purposes. I got into all my appointments on or before the scheduled time. Doctors would take the time to talk to you as long as you want. Everything is set up for the patient. Mayo is set up to help people who have medical problems, from the door man to the clinic to the hospital to motels. I would never go anywhere else. If your Doctor is not comfortable with what he sees, he only has to make a call to another Dr. in the Clinic for a 2nd or 3rd opinion. Recovery nurses at hospital care about you and are set up to deal with your surgery - and they are good people - they treat you like family. Kind of nice when they are asking you if you know how your catheter works. I know other clinics/hospitals may equal it, but in my mind it is Number 1. Where ever you go, God will be with you. Best of luck on your journey.

newsunrise

I am writing about a Hopkins success story. My father who is now 78 was first diagnosed in the late 1980's. We prepared for the worst and prayed for a miracle. Today, I am proud to say that he is a long term survivor of prostrate cancer. Every step of the way, he has participated in research that I know will one day help the next generation. His care by the clinicians at Johns Hopkins was outstanding, and I have observed first hand that they are intently focused on each patient as if they were the only patient. They helped him weigh all of his options before selecting what we now know was the right path, radiation. After many years of vibrant life he had an elevated PSA, and he is now undergoing hormone therapy at the Hopkins Blaustein Cancer Center. Again, this center of excellence is a place of magnificent healing and cutting edge treatment.

nodawgs

Definitely! My treatment was by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center-Houston. To toot their horn a little, they have been ranked as the No. 1 cancer clinic in the U.S. for years. (Do a web search on "best hospitals," then select "cancer" as the category). If you look closely at the tons of data compilations that go into assigning rankings, you'll find that the next-best cancer clinic doesn't even come close. Naturally, the one we are all interested is survivability stastistics. M.D. Anderson-Houston is also ranked No. 1 in the world by the WHO (World Health Organization). As the largest cancer center in the world, M.D. Anderson has their main facility in Houston, another facility in Florida, one in Georgia, and a treatment center in Madrid, Spain. They also have an ongoing and separate oncology pharmacological research center in Houston and genetically modified animal testing research centers in Kerrville and Fort Worth, Texas.

If you're considering a nerve-sparing or nerve-transplant radical prostatectomy, M.D. Anderson has long been recognized as pioneers first developing using the procedure with acceptable rates of success.

I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in late 2000, was put on "bicalutimide monotherapy" by M.D. Anderson, without the need for an orchiectomy or total androgen ablation with Lupron, etc. In other words, I take a simple Casodex pill daily (now going on 17-months) and so far, feel as if I have no cancer whatsoever, even though I have bone metastases to the right shoulder, neck, spine, a few ribs, and the pelvis. Casodex side effects aren't even worth mentioning.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center uses research-based treatment protocols, only. You'll find that other clinics lagging behind on the research curve will propose to de-nut you with an orchiectomy, make you have hot-flashes and grow boobs by total androgen ablation (aka androgen blockade) with Lupron or the like. Yeah...a crappy quality of life, to say the least...loss of bone density, loss of muscle mass, general weakness, and zero for sex. Bottom line: an extremely poor quality of life when studies have already shown that bicalutimide (Casodex) monotherapy is about the same in terms of survivability, but with a superior, normal quality of life. Do searches on "bicalutimide monotherapy" and you'll see what I mean, including the U.S. Board of Oncology and other highly reputable sources.

Best of Luck!

"Perry"

jimstacy

joeyray said:

In May 2002 at the age of 44 i had RP surgery at Johns Hopkins.After doing a lot of research i choose to go to Hopkins and was honored to have one of the best surgeons in the country perform my surgery Dr. Patrick Walsh.The hospital and staff were all wonderful A+++.Would highly recommend Johns Hopkins.

I just wanted to reply to you because my husband was operated on by Dr. Walsh also, who at the time was 37, back in June 2001. I also thought he and the entire staff was wonderful. How are you doing? My husbands PSA at the time was 1.0 (before the surgery) when they checked it at Johns Hopkins and his gleason was 6. He has been fine ever since.

joeyray

jimstacy said:

I just wanted to reply to you because my husband was operated on by Dr. Walsh also, who at the time was 37, back in June 2001. I also thought he and the entire staff was wonderful. How are you doing? My husbands PSA at the time was 1.0 (before the surgery) when they checked it at Johns Hopkins and his gleason was 6. He has been fine ever since.

It will be 3 years this May and I am doing fine all psa tests have been >.01 since surgery and every thing works great (with a little help from lavitra)Thank You for asking