Looking for a new Medical Oncologist, Kaiser, in Seattle?

Since DH's diagnosis in July of last year, we've seen only one medical oncologist. He's a good guy, very compassionate, but he's terribly overworked and really doesn't seem to remember us from one visit to the next (which is now only every 2-3 months.) Steve's PSA is fairly stable, bouncing around 2 since he had chemo, but never lower than 0.8. He's on Lupron + Casodex & Zometa. Never had his prostate removed or treated.

Our current MO will listen when I ask about other treatments but has never even given us any guidance on advanced treatments, let alone suggested we pursue anything. He seems to think that this is all OK, but frankly for us it's sort of a "waiting to die" approach to care. I know it's really up to us to push for more, but I just don't see our current doc having the mental bandwidth to do anything more for us than the minimal standard of care.

So I'm reaching out to this community for help in locating another MO. We are on Kaiser and cannot access care at SCCA. We tried to get an appointment with Dr. Higano but no dice, no way, nevah gonna happen. We have friends who have offered us accommodations at their home on Capitol Hill, so I am looking for a recommendation for an oncologist at the Kaiser Capitol Hill campus. There are two docs listed in their directory, Dr. Eric Chen and Dr. Richard Ancheta. Does anyone here see either of them? Feedback?

Any leads will be greatly appreciated!

@Wings,
Thank you! I'll look him up.

My sister just switched out of Kaiser. She got an address in AZ and they had to facilitate her new Medical plan. Same problem, she has cancer and no MO. Good friend of mine had Kaiser. Got cancer. They screwed him all up. Gave him super service the last few weeks before he died. Kaiser sucks.

His PSA is holding at a low number, so I don't think there will be surprises before August, other than maybe PSA creeping up a bit. And if it does, he can eliminate the Casodex to see if that helps, and if not, he can start on second line hormonals. Any MO should be able to manage it in the interim.

Is your husband on social security disability? Is that why he will qualify for Medicare before age 65?

Where are you located? Most states require that Medicare supplement insurance be sold to those under age 65 that are on Medicare. In your state, will you have the option of Medicare Advantage (part C)? Are you sure that Kaiser is the only Medicare Advantage plan in your state? Remember, ACA has nothing to do with getting Medicare supplement or using Advantage plans.

You should move to Georgia. We love it here. Interesting that a very liberal state like Washington doesn’t protect Medicare beneficiaries. And offering only one company reduces you effectively to a single payer system with no alternatives. Since your husband doesn’t work are you stuck in Washington due to a job? You really should consider states that provide better options.

We need to connect you with Todd Seals. He is in the southern part of the state. Quite a history starting with PSA of 3,216 some twelve years ago and now undetectable. He has effectively navigated the Kaiser system. Tonight he is in NY city at a special Blue Jacket event sponsored by Johnson and Johnson and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Just five minutes ago I spoke with him after he did the catwalk.

I will get you guys connected and I am sure he can be of assistance.

I will travel to the area in June. My son lives in Eugene. We plan to see Todd and his wife Amanda. We should all plan to get together.

JNF,

I emailed Todd S. last week and he gave me some good insight into how Kaiser oncology works. He didn't know of anyone in particular that we could see. So we are in contact, but no great breakthroughs...

We did get a referral to a Kaiser MO, and there is some hope that we can get a referral from him to go on to see a specialist at SCCA/University of Washington. Right now Steve is stable but as well all know, things can change quickly. My goal is to open the pathway to advanced care BEFORE a crisis hits us. If we are fortunate, he'll stay stable for a few more years until we can get Medigap insurance. There really is no alternative for us within the current system, as far as I can see.