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Anyone have any experience with ProstRcision?

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Posted 9/3/2009 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
I am two weeks from my scheduled da Vinci surgery and still reviewing options. Recent posts have made me more aware of the possibilities of other than surgery treatment.

I would like to hear from anyone who has experience (first or second hand) with the treatment options proposed by the ProstRcision outfit.

I am not trying to start another debate about which is better, surgery or radiation, but rather just trying to make an informed decision for myself.

If you are a radiation treated PC survivor, maybe you can take a look at their site and info on the Q&A pages and let me know what you think. It is ProstRcision.com and link to the Q&A.

By the way, this site seems to have one of the more easily understandable explantions of of the prostate, gleason scoring, staging and so forth that I have seen. It may be a good one for new PCers to see as they start their own quest for answers.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it,

Sonny
Posted 9/3/2009 1:52 PM (GMT 0)
Sonny,

My oldest brother went to the ProstRCision clinic in Atlanta just about ten years ago and is still receiving zero PSA tests. He was pleased with the experience and the clinic staff were really professional. There was a place for patients to stay (free, I think) and there were scheduled group activities like baseball games and the like as it took six weeks. Seed placement was the only uncomfortable time. Side effects were minimal but still occurred to some extent. My guess is that he'd do it again based on what he knows.

Me? I went RRP all the way and would do it the same way again.

HTH,
Garth
Posted 9/3/2009 2:09 PM (GMT 0)
Sony,
In my research before I had the robotic surgery I actually went down and visited the Prostrcision clinic in Atlanta and met with Dr. Critz for a consult. Before the meeting he took the time to call me on the phone and we talked for about 15 minutes. They have a nice clinic and very friendly, knowledable staff.
On my consult they did three tests, a urine flow test, ultrasound and a cat scan on site. I met with two different Doctors one of them being Dr. Critz. I was actually his last patient on a Friday afternoon and he spent close to 1 hour with me (Going till about 5:30) beside's the time spent with the previous mentioned tests.

After much consideration I felt that the Davinci was still the way to go for me. One main reason was that Dr. Critz will run a table for you on his success based upon your PSA numbers and other factors and I came out in the 56% bracket of being cancer free in 10 years following his procedures and experience. Also I had several experiences that I felt were leading me to Nashville.

Give them a call ask for an appointment. If you are like me I wanted to EXPLORE ALL MY OPTIONS so I wouldn't have any what if thoughts after my treatment.

Good luck,
Larry
Posted 9/3/2009 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
Larry, read your email. I just sent you one with my phone number.

Sonny
Posted 9/4/2009 5:52 PM (GMT 0)

Sonny:

I am a pc patient/survivor who chose the ProstRcision treatment option at Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia www.rcog.com . Coincidentally, I am scheduled to see Dr. Critz next week for a semi-annual follow up visit. My last PSA was 0.19 ( 3 1/2 years after the implant procedure.)  I was treated in 2005.

For me, side effects have been minimal. Immediately following the procedure I did have some discomfort and, needless to say, the few days with the catheter was no fun. 

After evaluating several options, in addition to my urologist and my primary care physician, I consulted with two family members who are physicians as well. 

Clearly what impressed me the most was the readily available and published ProstRcision cure rate.  Moments ago, I looked at the www.prostrciscion.com site & note the overall cure rate to be 83%. I feel fortunate to be in their 88% group. 

I've read about da Vinci, talked to two da Vinci surgeons, talked to my own urologist, watched a video, and seen a demo (not live, of course). With all of its bells and whistles, da Vinci is still surgery. The jury is still out as to whether there is  any statistical data comparing da Vinci cure rates to those of traditional surgery.

I have peace of mind (and a good PSA) with my decision and experience with ProstRcision. 

Best wishes - Silas

Posted 9/4/2009 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
Sonny,

I was treated Sept.19,2002 in Atlanta with ProstRcision. Here are my stats before treatment.

53 years old
PSA 7.1
Gleason Score (3+4) 7
6 cores all positive
nodule right side
CT Organ Scan -negitive
Bone Scan-negitive

I'm now 60 and I've not had any side effects. I will tell you or anyone that I was blessed to have this procedure available. The staff and doctors are great. Dr. Critz did my seed implants but met other doctors while being treated. All involved with my cure were great.
If you have questions e-mail to [email protected] I'll give you my phone# By the way I live in Mi. by Metro airport.
Posted 9/4/2009 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Sonny,
I was diagnosed in Dec. 2005 and went to RCOG (Atlanta) in Feb. 2006. My PSA was 2.4 but I still has cancer. My Gleason score was 7. I am currently 77 years of age. I was very impressed with every aspect of the people and treatment at RCOG. I had 94 seeds, catheter overnight, stayed one additional nights in Atlanta and drove home to SW Florida the next day without any problem. After 3 weeks, I returned to Atlanta for seven weeks of radiation. I had no side effects from the radiation at all until I was back home and then the side effects (some bowel ergency) were mild and dissapeared after a short period of time (a few weeks). My PSA is now 0.037 and it would be an understatement to say that I am very satisfied. The thing that impressed me the most was RCOG's consideration of their out-of-town patients. They have reduced rates at Atlanta's hotels and motels as well as a list of private homes and other places to stay and they have a considerable list of activities available for their patients. in short, they not only treat your cancer but also the whole person. Only you can decide what is best for you but for me it was definitely RCOG.
The best of luck to you, Al K.
Posted 9/5/2009 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Sonny3,

I was treated at the Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG) about 6 years ago. My PSA was 6.4, Gleason 3+3 and my Staging was T1c. My projected 10 year disease free rate was 94.7% with 0% projected urinary and rectal side effects. My last PSA was 0.16 ng/ml, I have no urinary or rectal side effects I didn't have before my treatment and at 71 I am just beginning to experience some ED problems.

In my opinion there is no better clinic anywhere in the world for treating prostate cancer (how is that for being biased by my experience). Four other RCOG patients and I generated a web site a couple of years ago to try to provide newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients with more useful treatment decision information. We have spent the last 6 months getting ready to update the site and have done what we wanted to do while making our treatment decisions but never had the time. The next update will not only compare the (normalized) average 10 year disease free rates of the top eight treatments performed in the U.S. but it will also compare serious urinary, rectal and sexual side effect rates.

I am not familiar with all the rules for using this site but I would be happy to email a copy to anyone interested in a draft copy of the comparisons. It is seven pages long including two pages of references so I am sure it would not be appropriate to send it through this site. If I am wrong, someone please let me know. My email address is [email protected].

CJP
CJP
Posted 9/5/2009 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
Please do not post any reports, etc, especially one 7 pages long. I can't help but notice that we suddenly have 4 first time posters, all with experience with the subject clinic and each one touting it as the best ever. May I ask you guys how you found this site and this subject? We are very sensative to spamming of commercial websites and such, so I must admit my curiousity and spammer-alerter has been awakened. How did you 4 first time posters arrive here?
Posted 9/5/2009 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
Very suspicious...

Tony
Posted 9/5/2009 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
I do not have a commercial web site, just another guy with PCa.
Posted 9/5/2009 5:01 AM (GMT 0)
I did some research on this product and the claims by the RO.  Mike says it best at the InfoLink here is his response:

http://prostatecancerinfolink.ning.com/group/radiationstation/forum/topics/prostrcision-1

Tony

Posted 9/5/2009 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
Well, to give it both sides of the coin, I had a good friend go there about 5 years ago, and has been ok, zero's psa, claims no incontinence and ed, he wasy 52 when diagnosed, and a Gleason 3+4 and intact, if I recall correct. I considered it momentarily when I was first diagnosed. I'm not saying it isn't legit, as it has been in business for many years, and does have a good reputation. What twitched my radar was 4 new posters all speaking up for it so quickly and so close together. It just seemed like an unusual concidence to me.

I have heard nothing bad about the clinic, except some disagreement with their numbers and lack of study done. I sometimes wonder if I would have had better results if I had gone that route, myself... smilewinkgrin
Posted 6/10/2016 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
I notice that the last post about the Prostrcision organization is almost 7 years ago. That said i have had Stage 1 PC for the past 11 months and in April my PSA jumped from 5.84 to 7.42.My urologist perfomed another biopsy and it showed an increase from my previous Gleason score of 6 to 7..3+4. We met yesterday and he recommended that i continue with Active Surveillance..somewhat based on my age..76..but also recommended that if i decide to start treatment now i should go with either Radiation Therapy or "freezing" which i think is called Cryotherapy. He says he would send me to the RO part of their group for evaluation and thereafter they would recommend either RadTher or Seeds depending on my individual case. I tentatively decided on continuing Active Surveillance while i look into options. My Urologist has 27 years of experience with Prostate Cancer, but in spite of that i am inclined to look for a second opinion to help me make a decision on AS or starting treatment of some kind.
Since being diagnosed i have been trying to do internet research on PC and in that processs came across RCOG. I was initially interested primarily because i live in the greater Atlanta area and they are in Atlanta. Subsequently i obtained and reviewed their DVD and Q&A booklet which are very thorough and pretty easy to understand for a layman like me. I know there are many pretty marketing materials out there on the net so i put search in this forum for the Prostrcision to help me decide whether or not to even contact them further.Like one gentleman in this thread pointed out their data base is beyond substantial and their track record appears to be excellent. I wish i could find more recent input about them from forum members ...Im sure they have grown significantly in the past 7 years, but i suspect i am going to at least initiate some direct contact to try and evaluate them as an option for me if i do decide to start treatment. Thanks for any input, guidance etc anyone can provide.
Posted 6/10/2016 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome bear. Sorry you are here but you will get good advice and support

I am also in Atlanta. RCOG was one of the groups I consulted with and was very impressed. My wife used them for some very touchy breast cancer radiation and they were great

I ended up using HDR brachytherapy. You should consider it as well. Let me know and I will provide you with a few excellent HDR practitioners here in Atlanta. For some research I suggest you look at www.cetmc.com. This is the website of Fr Jeffrey Demames the HDR pioneer who also ran the department at UCLA.

Best regards,

Jack
Posted 6/10/2016 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
I think multimodal therapy is overkill for your favorable risk PC. More radiation than you need raises the risk of SEs. Here are a couple of critiques:

Is combination EBRT + LDR-BT worth the risk for most patients?

Prostate Cancer Therapy Promoted Without Evidence?

Monotherapies like SBRT, HDR brachy and LDR brachy would certainly be adequate for your favorable risk PC and avoid unnecessary side effects.

I do not think that whole gland cryo is a good idea - the cure rates are not as good as those others and SEs are much worse. If you are considering focal cryo, that may be an option, but it depends on excellent localization of only one or two tumors, and they have to be in the right places.

Many AS programs don't recommend treatment until the Gleason score reaches 4+3.

- Allen
Posted 6/11/2016 12:27 AM (GMT 0)
Dang, seeing this old thread that I started almost 7 years ago has brought back some old memories.

I have sure come a long way since this one was posted.

Sonny
Posted 6/11/2016 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
Prosricision (did I spell that right) certainly does a good job of marketing. At least, 18 months ago when I google searched "prostate cancer treatment", it showed up at the top of the list.

And, they make some really great claims.

And, it might even be a reasonable treatment alternative--for someone at the high risk end of the spectrum.

That being said, my gut tells me they are probably better at marketing than at actual patient care. But I could be wrong.
Posted 6/11/2016 11:35 AM (GMT 0)
They are very effective marketers. Also do a lot of community based meetings for men's health issues. The founder Dr Frank Critz was probably the first to accumulate treatment statistics to make the point that radiation treatments can compete against surgery. When I spoke to them he had published 15 year results. He has also published critical papers over his career.

about four years ago Northside Hospital purchased the group. They have always more than just prostate work but it has been the main focus. I know several men who have used them successfully. One of my business partners has completed 15 years undetectable after a G7 dx.

Regarding the treatment mode they do tailor to the individual and work with a large urology group and oncology group for the nonradiation services.

This isn't a school for them just reporting what I have learned.
Posted 6/11/2016 12:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for the feedback. I am already starting to feel a little better about my ability to do enough homework to make a decision i have confidence in regarding treatment now vs continuing AS. Trouble is the cost of "guessing wrong" is significant even though i am an old coot...I'm still lucky enough to be physically very active and Im worried that any kind of treatment now may end my kayak fishing hobby. I dont plan to hold their very informative and well done marketing materials against them at RCOG. They are closeby and represent one option to at least consider. I was puzzled yesterday when my Urol said that if i do decide to start treatment he would recommend EBRT or Cryotherapy...I didnt know enough to ask follow up questions about the Cryotherapy but seem to recall reading in some places on the net that it is typically NOT an early stage cancer treatment. I do plan to ask him for his reasoning but am not as interested in considering the Cryo as i was before.
I dont know what the impact of advancing prostate cancer will be on me due to other health issues a lot of people my age usually have. My primary concern is selecting a type of therapy where the aftermath side effects will be relatively minimized.Maybe it shouldnt be but it is. If i cant function like i do now after treatment I think i would have a hard time getting past that. At least that is how i feel now.
Anyway thanks so much for the feedback.

JNF i will look at the sites you recommend and welcome any names etc of Atlanta area practitioners you can recommend.
One other area i could use some help with. I live in a relatively small city but it has a massive and highly regarded medical health system. My Urol is highly experienced but i cant seem to find any objective source to help me evaluate his "experience" and capability ,or the other side of his group which has the ROs and other cancer specialists. Does anyone have any thoughts on how i can get better quality information on him and his group? Thanks again.
Posted 6/11/2016 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Where in the Atlanta area are you.
Jack
Posted 6/11/2016 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sure JNF will refer you to his HDR brachytherapy specialist. It is an excellent and underused therapy, imho.

I suggest you also talk to WellStar Kennestone Hospital about CyberKnife, a kind of SBRT. It has very low rates of side effects, excellent potency preservation, and high cure rates. It takes only 5 treatments, and is equal or superior on every dimension to IGRT/IMRT.

Do you have to be treated in Georgia?

Because you have 3 positive cores, I doubt that focal cryotherapy is right for you - they usually set a limit of two, and they usually have to be adjacent and away from the urethra and rectum.
Posted 6/11/2016 9:44 PM (GMT 0)

lewvino said...
Sony,
In my research before I had the robotic surgery I actually went down and visited the Prostrcision clinic in Atlanta and met with Dr. Critz for a consult. Before the meeting he took the time to call me on the phone and we talked for about 15 minutes. They have a nice clinic and very friendly, knowledable staff.
On my consult they did three tests, a urine flow test, ultrasound and a cat scan on site. I met with two different Doctors one of them being Dr. Critz. I was actually his last patient on a Friday afternoon and he spent close to 1 hour with me (Going till about 5:30) beside's the time spent with the previous mentioned tests.

After much consideration I felt that the Davinci was still the way to go for me. One main reason was that Dr. Critz will run a table for you on his success based upon your PSA numbers and other factors and I came out in the 56% bracket of being cancer free in 10 years following his procedures and experience. Also I had several experiences that I felt were leading me to Nashville.

Give them a call ask for an appointment. If you are like me I wanted to EXPLORE ALL MY OPTIONS so I wouldn't have any what if thoughts after my treatment.

Good luck,
Larry

Larry, was your doctor same as mine, Dr. Jo Smith at Vandy?

I got a call from one of the docs at Prostrcision(sp?), 2 actually, and he spent a while talking with me. Very nice and helpful, and DID NOT try to influence me to go with them. They just gave me a roughly 60% chance of a cure, which is the same as they said I had with surgery.

One thing: I had their brochure, which emphasized NO HT, and said that their patients who ad both had worse SEs. When I was consulting with Dr. Smith at Vanderbilt, he said he knew Critz very well and insisted that with my large prostate, they would for sure give me HT before RT, to shrink my large gland. And when I talked with them on the phone, sure enough, I would need HT before RT. Despite what their brochure said. So Smith was right about that. But maybe HT just to shrink the gland is different than trying to use HT as a primary treatment?

EDIT: Oh heck, I just responded to a 7 year old post! LOL! It is amazing how such ancient threads often come back to life!

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 6/11/2016 8:37:44 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/15/2016 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
When I consulted with Dr. Critz and crew at RCOG, HT was on the treatment agenda because of my risk level. So the written materials they publish are not absolutes for all. I understand they also will do mono-therapy seeds or IMRT/IGRT if that is what is called for.

Bear, in the Atlanta area I know of two clinics that do a lot of HDR brachytherapy. I used the Total Cancer Control at Preston Ridge in Alpharetta. Two rad oncs there specialize in HDR, Dr. Craig Wilkinson and Dr. Dale McCord. Wilkinson is my doctor there. They are part of Atlanta Oncology Associates and are affiliated with Northside Hospital. Another provider is part of the Emory Winship Cancer Center at the Emory St Josephs Prostate Cancer Center located at the I285 and GA 400. A good friend had HDR there a year before me and he is doing very well. Another member on this board, Dwayne, had HDR there last year. I also see that Cancer Treatment Centers perform HDR, but I do not know to what extent or anyone that has used them. One is located just south of Atlanta in Newnan.
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