choosing the best seed radiation doctor in south east?? a source? not proton

trueblue-2
trueblue-2 Member Posts: 2
in Prostate Cancer #1

my husband has a current PSA of 5.8 ( had been 6.8) -- and it is contained. 8 needle biopsy.--- from all i have read- surgery seems the last thing we want to do-- thus, current consideration is LDR braachy seeeds - perhaps with HT.

the issue is: choosing a dr. whose background is quite open to read about-- where do we go to see total scope of a doctor in terms of amount of surgeries done/ his credentials and how many patients treated with a 10 yr. success rate.

 

we have done months of research--- the brachy seeds today can be like a bead formation going in to avoid migration but the HT was suggested to really insure that the cancer return may never happen.....

 

any suggestions on a source for the best doctors? Proton was not considered because it seems to be for persons retired or who work remotely-- that is not our case.....we are also going for 2-3 more opinions...sigh.

 

we need to reach a decision but we wish to do it-- with NO REGRETS .

Comments

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #2
    .

    In order to provide the best information to your husband's treatment decision please provide details of diagnosis tests; that is for the biopsy, how many cores positive, Gleason score of each positive core, how extensive the cancer is in each of the positive cores....any other information given in the pathology report.  Digits rectal exam findings? Any other diagnostic test's, i.e. MRI, pet scan, etc

    We are here for you and your husband.

     

  • trueblue-2
    trueblue-2 Member Posts: 2
    #3
    hopeful and optimistic said:

    .

    In order to provide the best information to your husband's treatment decision please provide details of diagnosis tests; that is for the biopsy, how many cores positive, Gleason score of each positive core, how extensive the cancer is in each of the positive cores....any other information given in the pathology report.  Digits rectal exam findings? Any other diagnostic test's, i.e. MRI, pet scan, etc

    We are here for you and your husband.

     

    My message was to ask for

    My message was to ask for links to research doctors thru a site :schooling & patient response etc.......sorry if mis-understood...

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,817 Member
    #4
    trueblue-2 said:

    My message was to ask for

    My message was to ask for links to research doctors thru a site :schooling & patient response etc.......sorry if mis-understood...

    Trublue,

    I also do not fully understand what you may be requesting. But the two best schools/research institues in oncology in the Southeast US are Emory Medical Center (Atlanta) and Duke (NC).  Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN) is excellent.

    MD Anderson CC is in Houston, Texas, and is one of the best facilities in the world.  Some regard Houston as Southeastern, but most would just say Southern.

    Your husband was told his disease is 'contained?'  Understand that that is an informed conclusion on his doctors' part, since it is impossible to know that absolutely with today's scanning technologies.  It may be the most reasonable conclusion, and I hope they are correct, but it is not absolute.   

    'Seeding' generally is recommended  (when it is recommended) for minor PCa cases with no metastasis.  If in fact such is his condition, then it can be a good choice.  More substantial disease would require (according to most of the literature on the subject) either a Cyberknife (SBRT) type delivery, or IGRT radiation, if surgery is decided against, as you indicated.

    max

     

  • Grinder
    Grinder Member Posts: 487 Member
    edited September 2017 #5
    Websites

    Unfortunately, the consumer records for surgeries you are asking for, to my knowledge, do not include success rates for seed implants, but are limited to the different procedures involving radical prostatectomy and TURP, besides a wide variety of other surgeries besides the prostate.

    http://www.checkbook.org/surgeonratings/default.cfm

    https://projects.propublica.org/surgeons/

    The latter has not been updated since 2015. It is the site I used when researching surgeons in my area before my prostatectomy. These are the only sites I know of that provide surgeon and hospital success rates, number of procedures, and incidence and degree of side effects. But I don't think they list seed implant records. There may be others I don't know about, but they probably list major surgical procedures, and I am thinking seed implants are more routine that radical prostatectomy, which would explain their omission from these sites. But that's just a guess... Sorry.

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