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Anyone in Raleigh/Durham area of NC?

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 1/23/2018 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
Just trying to find any contacts that may be close by.
Posted 1/23/2018 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
I live in Cary. My email address is accessible. (Click the envelope icon to the left of this comment, or click my user name -- PeterDisAbelard.)

Send me an email and I'll try to answer your questions. I'll be glad to meet with you if that will help. Sadly, I am doing the low-carb thing so the usual beer and pizza is right out. But I like coffee.
Posted 1/23/2018 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
I also live in Cary - small world.

Jeff
Posted 1/23/2018 2:57 PM (GMT 0)
I too live in Cary, and been treated at DUMC for the past 2 years.
Posted 1/23/2018 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
I live about an hour away. Have been to Duke for mp-MRI and biopsy.
Posted 1/23/2018 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Which URO are you guys seeing at Duke? I got a second opinion from Polascik after my initial diagnosis and let's just say I was less than impressed.
Posted 1/23/2018 3:51 PM (GMT 0)

JeffM said...
Which URO are you guys seeing at Duke? I got a second opinion from Polascik after my initial diagnosis and let's just say I was less than impressed.

Ditto
Posted 1/23/2018 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Eaton for Urology/Surgery at the Duke Raleigh campus. I started out there and have stayed there. In hindsight, I may have picked somewhere else.
Posted 1/23/2018 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
I've been at WakeMed Urology since my PSA was first flagged by my GP in Dec, 2016. They have treated me very well.
Posted 1/24/2018 12:20 PM (GMT 0)
This is such a blessing to find local people....my husband was at Duke Urology and we were both very dissatisfied with their treatment and the rate of that treatment....I nagged him to try somewhere else, so he is currently at Associated Urologists, and within one appointment, they had ordered a MRI, done an ultrasound, blood work, and a urinalysis...whereas at Duke he had been 3 times, all with different antibiotics prescribed and nothing more....he is 40, and has a PSA of 7.98 at his last reading, so I felt there wasn't enough urgency at Duke. He will be having an MRI at Duke....and from there, who knows. I shall be asking you all many questions should he need surgery or further treatment...he hasn't been diagnosed yet, I'm just bracing for the worst over here.
Posted 1/24/2018 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
I know this is a stressful period for both you and your husband, but it sounds like are now on a path to get some answers. The MRI should reveal if there are any suspicious areas that would warrant a biopsy and they would be able to specifically target those areas.

His PSA is fairly high for his age, but as others have said, PSA is not a cancer test and there are other things that can cause it to rise. He would be very young to have PC, but certainly not unheard of.

Let us know if there is anything we can do to help. We're here for you.

Jeff
Posted 1/24/2018 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Crazy:

My urologist is with the Associated Urologists of North Carolina. I see Dr. Tortora there. My medical oncologist is Dr. Berry, currently with Duke. When I started seeing Dr. Berry he was with the smaller Cancer Center of North Carolina which has since been acquired by Duke. I also saw Dr Reilly at the CCNC. Dr Reilly was my radiation oncologist. I haven't seen him in a while now. They are all good doctors and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them.

If you will bear with me, one word of caution about that sense of urgency you are seeking. Much of the damage that prostate cancer does to men's lives comes from their running around with their hair on fire, frightened by the word "cancer," and demanding treatments with side effects worse than the disease would ever be if left untreated. Prostate cancer is a slow moving disease and dealing with it is a marathon, not a sprint.

There's no direct, immediate harm in pushing the tempo of diagnosis but if your husband were to be diagnosed he and you would be faced with an urgent, urgent need to slow down. At that point you'd need to channel your inner tree sloth, getting second opinions on any biopsy results, taking to lots of doctors, considering lots of options, deliberating, pondering, doing your homework.
Posted 1/24/2018 3:13 PM (GMT 0)

PeterDisAbelard. said...

If you will bear with me, one word of caution about that sense of urgency you are seeking. Much of the damage that prostate cancer does to men's lives comes from their running around with their hair on fire, frightened by the word "cancer," and demanding treatments with side effects worse than the disease would ever be if left untreated. Prostate cancer is a slow moving disease and dealing with it is a marathon, not a sprint.

There's no direct, immediate harm in pushing the tempo of diagnosis but if your husband were to be diagnosed he and you would be faced with an urgent, urgent need to slow down. At that point you'd need to channel your inner tree sloth, getting second opinions on any biopsy results, taking to lots of doctors, considering lots of options, deliberating, pondering, doing your homework.


very, very wise



The likely outcome of all that testing: one or more courses of antibiotics prescribed to take care of the prostate infection he has.
Posted 1/24/2018 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
You say you're dissatisfied with Duke Urology and I can understand that, especially if your husband saw Dr Polascik. If he has the MRI there I assume it will be a mp-MRI since that would be preferred for prostate cancer screening, and if it shows something suspicious, the radiologist will probably encourage your husband to have a fusion biopsy with Dr Polascik who, when I had it, was the only Duke urologist on staff who could do the fusion. Maybe you can work with another urologist at another facility who can do the fusion biopsy with the mp-MRI done at Duke.

Let's hope the MRI shows nothing suspicious. And even if it does it is not infallible. Mine did and my biopsy was negative.
Posted 1/24/2018 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
NKinney:

In her post earlier today she said that part of her frustration with Duke is that all they seemed to do for three visits was prescribe unavailing courses of antibiotics. You could be right about the prostate infection but if that's all it is then it is probably the hard-to-treat variety (which is all to common).
Posted 1/24/2018 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
Yep


Could be multiple things. Take care of the infection first.
Posted 1/24/2018 8:30 PM (GMT 0)

hrpufnstuf said...
You say you're dissatisfied with Duke Urology and I can understand that, especially if your husband saw Dr Polascik. If he has the MRI there I assume it will be a mp-MRI since that would be preferred for prostate cancer screening, and if it shows something suspicious, the radiologist will probably encourage your husband to have a fusion biopsy with Dr Polascik who, when I had it, was the only Duke urologist on staff who could do the fusion. Maybe you can work with another urologist at another facility who can do the fusion biopsy with the mp-MRI done at Duke.


He only ever saw a nurse practicioner there...never saw an actual urologist, so I can't say. His "new" urologist that we really like ordered the MRI to be done at Duke, because he said it would be the best image, etc etc... and he was trying to save my husband from having repeat biopsies...however insurance won't pay for the initial MRI, since he hasn't had a biopsy....so we are toying with the idea of just paying out of pocket, or to cross our fingers and go the blind biopsy route.

Posted 1/24/2018 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I suck at forum posting (see above)...
Posted 1/24/2018 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
CARY = Containment Area for Relocated Yankees
true?
Posted 1/24/2018 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Well, new PSA results in, just to add to the drama....
His first PSA test ever done was August 2017....5.34
Second test after antibiotics in October 2017....5.34
Third test after more antibiotics December 2017...7.98
4th and latest test after another dose of antibiotics Janu 2018....6.71

Thoughts? Again...40 year old male, CT scan for unrelated issue showed enlarged prostate 8 years ago....he was given a DRE and antibiotics and there was zero followup. Insert eye roll/sigh.

All of his DRE's (dating back to 2008 with that CT scan) have been smooth, symmetrical, no issues other than the prostate is larger than normal.

He is waiting to be scheduled for an MRI, and then a biopsy should the MRI show anything suspicious...I have no idea how long those will take to be scheduled....I feel like we are moving at a snail's pace. I agree and nod my head with the need to slow down, but I have such anxiety and am just plain scared. We have 2 small children, and my husband works while I stay home with the kids...so my anxiety takes me to the worst scenarios...
Posted 1/24/2018 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
The very rapid up-and-down of PSA is indicative of prostatitis. Cancer doesn't do that. Chronic prostatitis (CP/CPPS) can be very difficult to identify and treat.
Posted 1/25/2018 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Crazy:

I hope the other readers on this thread will forgive me if I recycle part of a comment I made three weeks ago to a similarly-frantic wife.

I said...
If it helps you modulate your worrying, you can bear this in mind: The 10 year prostate cancer specific survival rate for men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer is something like 99 percent. This makes being diagnosed with prostate cancer roughly as dangerous as working as a lumberjack.

So, while you huddle in your panic, thinking "Oh my God! Oh my God! What if..." remember the comforting words of Michael Palin. Even if he was diagnosed tomorrow, which he probably won't be, then...

Comforting Monty Python Song.

Posted 1/25/2018 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
CARY = Containment Area for Relocated Yankees?

Or is it Concentrated Area for Relocated Yankees?

I've heard both.
Posted 1/25/2018 7:02 PM (GMT 0)
"CARY = Containment Area for Relocated Yankees?

Or is it Concentrated Area for Relocated Yankees?"
---------------------------------------------------------

I've heard both.

My mother lives a little south of Cary/SW of Raleigh in Fuquay-Varina. I visit often and have heard her, and others, refer to Cary in both ways. I don't exactly think the locals use the phrases as terms of endearment!

Somewhat back on topic, my stepfather initially had the same Dr. Tortora that Peter uses at Associated Urologists, before switching uros and eventually passing from this disease. Neither he nor my mom liked him. To quote her: "nobody liked him. He was always running late, and his office staff sucked, too!" LOL! Tell me what you really think, mom! They later switched to a Dr. Benevides, I believe of the same practice and were much happier.
Posted 1/26/2018 6:43 PM (GMT 0)

MDNative said...
I don't exactly think the locals use the phrases as terms of endearment!



I didn't really think so.

I was just wondering if it was more true than not.
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