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Appt. With Dr. Lam

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 10/22/2014 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
Have finally convinced my husband to get another opinion on his treatment plan. He has an appt. With Dr. lam mid November. Can I please get some suggestions for accommodations while we're there. Only planning on staying two nights. Arrive the night before and leave the day after appt. Is that OK for first visit? We don't really know what to expect. If there is any reason we would need to stay longer. He is having restaging CT Scans, bone scans and labs done before we go at MD anderson. We will bring results to appt. Should we rent a car or can we get by with cab. Never been to the area. We're flying from Texas. Any suggestions regarding these items and anything else we should bring or ask would be much appreciated. Also, how do you coordinate the suggestions from a " second Opinion" with current Oncolgist? MsWorryWort? Are you all still using MDA and Sholtz/Lam?
Posted 10/22/2014 7:06 PM (GMT 0)
Barb:

Call their office. In the past, they had an arrangement with a nice local hotel (they will give you a code to enter when making reservations).

I'm not sure if they still do that.

We have discovered airbnb.com

You can do short term rentals with them. We ended up renting a condo for 10 days (our daughter lives there so we make it a family vacation). Not sure, but you can probably get an inexpensive 2-day rental with them

The hotels for Dr. Scholz/Lam are usually within walking distance (maybe a mile) from their office.

Email me for more info on airbnb or the area.

Mel
Posted 10/22/2014 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Compiler. We had only planned on flying in the day before and leaving the following day. Do you think thats typical for the first visit? I would not think there would be any followup tests or anything during that first visit. We will be bringing CT Scans and Bone Scans and Labs from that same week with us. I will call their office to see about hotel code or recommendation. If we need to stay for a longer visit on another occasion we will definately check out airbb.

Thanks for the info.

Barb
Posted 10/22/2014 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
Barb:

I think your assessment is correct.

But, why not call them and ask?

My initial appointment was one day (maybe 2 hours).

Mel
Posted 10/23/2014 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
Just returned ourselves. The Ritz is just a short walk away and the AAA discounts are pretty good.
Posted 10/23/2014 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
It's probably better to have a car in LA ... i find cheap cars at Fox Rental (Mazda3 at $20 per day) or 'interesting' cars at RelayRides (eg a mini convertible for $50 per day) to be the best deals when going to LA.

If you've got a car, you can also checkout the beach communities (hermosa, Manhattan, etc) which are only 20 minutes away. That's where i usually stay.
Posted 10/23/2014 6:24 AM (GMT 0)
Barb,

We rented a car the first time, not knowing what to expect. Every trip since, we take a cab. As I recall, it is a $30.00 ride from LAX to Marina del Rey and about 10.00 from the hotel to Prostate Oncology Specialist's office.

The Inn at Marina del Rey has a code for Prostate Oncology Specialist, but be sure to check online rates also. When we went in September there was an online special that was cheaper than using the medical code.

I personally wouldn't stay at the Ritz again. It's way too expensive for being what I consider a substandard Ritz Carlton. It's old and dated, but its prices are not.

When we went the first time, we didn't say anything to MD Anderson. We just went. When we got back, we explained that we went out there for a 2nd opinion and that they had also added Zytiga to his Lupron and Casodex. The oncologist at MDA was perfectly fine with it. He completely agreed with adding Zytiga, but it was outside of their protocol.

Please, feel free to send me an email and I can give you links to all the info I have.
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