If you live in the NJ, NY, or CT area please come in

Hello. My 62 year old father was just diagnosed with PC. His Gleason is a 7 (4+3) in 60% 3+3 20% in lower right quad. Upper right is 3+3 20% and 3+4 20%.  He is T2 and PSA was in the 7's I believe. I know it was under 10 for sure. During DRE Dr did feel one suspicious area. He has not had any CT or bone scans yet as this was just diagnosed. Should we request them immediately?

Since we are located in Northern NJ, i was wondering who else was from the area and what experiences they have had with doctors in this area. We are going for opinions at Memorial Sloan Kettering but were unsure who to choose. We also saw that Dr. Ketan Badani from Colombia, Dr. David Samadi from Mt. Sinai, Dr. Tewari from NY Pres and Dr Samir Taneja from NYU are some of the more known surgeons in NY. Anyone ever use them?

What about Patrick Walsh at JOhns Hopkins? Anyone use him? My mother has read his book this weekend. Is it worth going for a consult or even having him be the surgeon?

My father is still investigating options. Surgery looks better-nerve sparing if they consider him candidate because then he can follow with radiation if needed however the side effects are scary. We read it is all about the surgeon so that is why I wanted some local stories of experiences if possible. Also if you did the radiation route how did you choose who did it and what type of rays were used, etc.

Sorry for all the questions but really looking for some names and local experiences. It is hard to find honest reviews even though I know everyone is starting at a different point.

Thanks in advance!

 

If you decide to interview a radiation oncologist, I strongly recommend Dr. Timothy Chen at St. Clare's in Dover and Denville.

Formypops- My total experience with MSK in Basking Ridge was a phone call to the oncologist who was suggested. After chatting, she asked me to fax her my previous reports, which I did. That was about a year and a half ago. I'm still waiting to hear from her.

As for Dr. Chen, unfortunately both my wife and I are his patients. He never ceases to amaze us with his knowledge, not only re: radiation matters but all medical matters. He was recently highlighted on the front page of the Star Ledger and on ABC channel 7. St. Clare's had a woman patient with a lung tumor so large and so positioned that it couldn't be removed surgically. Dr. Chen treated her with HDR brachytherapy - a special kind of seeding (the first time that has ever been tried) and reduced the tumor enough so that it could be surgically removed. On top of all that, he's the nicest guy you will ever meet. And, no, I don't get a kick-back for patients I send his way.

BTW- when Dr. Chen treated me he was in Morristown.

The signature function is a negative default, ie- you must check the Include signature box each time to make it appear, otherwise it will not show.. I think it maybe will show each time if you use the Quick Reply, but haven't tried it.

Thanks for the info, kind sir. I tried a couple Quick Reply posts after this post, which I have deleted, and they put in my signature each time I posted.

If you you live in northen NJ, then I might recommend you check the surgeon I used in Rochester NY which is only 4 hours from you.  His name is Dr Jean Joseph from the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY.  He has close to 2000 surgeries by now, and was one of the first in the country to do robotic surgery. 

I had my surgery three years ago and I had an excellent outcome, no ED issues what so ever and no incontinence issues. 

When I was shopping around, cost was a big factor for me.   I was looking at the surgeons in NYC, but the total cost there would have been around $50,000 plus.   In Rochester , my total cost hospital and surgeon was only $21,000.  Also the living expenses at a hotel was cheap, about $70 a day vs $200 plus I would have had to pay in NYC.