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Recommendations for RO - N Illinois / S Wisc?

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Posted 12/15/2019 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Recommendation sought for radiation oncologist, clinic, and/or hospital for radiation treatment of type 1 prostate cancer.
Posted 12/15/2019 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Dr. Brian Moran at the Chicago Prostate Cancer Center. In Westmont. He is well known for radiation therapy both brachytherapy and external beam. Several men on the forum have been treated by him and I remember all have been pleased. Website is www.chicagoprostatecancer.com.
Posted 12/15/2019 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome!

I was treated by Dr. Moran in 2013. He's great and has a record to match (10s of 1000s of brachytherapy patients).

What are your stats? Gleason score? PSA?
Posted 12/15/2019 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
From Dr Moran’s current website (my Dad lives nearby so know the area well), he seems to only do LDR which is not a bad thing but HDR and IMRT/IGRT should be looked at also by cpence from other RO’s in the area. Without knowing his diagnosis, hard to know which direction to go.
Posted 12/15/2019 10:04 PM (GMT 0)
If you have an interest in SBRT (hypofractionated external beam radiation), CyberKnife Illinois, at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL was great for me - especially Dr. Arica Hirsch, RO.

North Shore Hospital in Arlington Heights also has CyberKnife for PCa, with Dr. Mohideen. He was my second choice, after Dr. Hirsch.
Posted 12/15/2019 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all these great responses. We're all brothers in this, and it shows. I am 71, and just got my biopsy and diagnosis. The urologist indicated that the surgeons in his practice draw the line at 75 and will not operate on anyone that age or older. I'm in good health and I could tolerate the procedure, I believe, but incontinence is a bigger problem for us older folks with surgery according to the urologist and I can avoid that along with the risk of surgery with radiation treatments. Cure rates are the same, and except for Lupron the side effects are less severe if I choose radiation. Neither choice seems superior to the other, and each has its own drawbacks. This is early innings for me, so I'm really seeking a recommendation for a RO for a second opinion and consultation. I also have an appointment with a surgeon in the UW cancer center in Madison. PSA 3.6 June 2017; 4.7 March 2019, 5.4 September 2019. 5 of 12 cores benign, 5 cores Gleason 3+3 (5%, 10%, 15%, 50%, 80%), 2 cores Gleason 3+4 (80%, 80%).
Posted 12/16/2019 1:33 AM (GMT 0)
Procedures like LD Brachytherapy, HD Brachytherapy, and SBRT (ie: Cyberknife) are relatively quick so the treatment location would not be that important as you could travel and stay in a location for a few days or weeks then return home. The standard radiation treatment of IGRT/IMRT takes much longer, 6-9 weeks, so that is usually best done closer to home and there seems to be plenty of radiation treatment machines scattered around as part of cancer treatment groups and hospitals. Surgery is it’s own deal and the skill of the surgeon is most important so you go where the experience is. Robotic assisted surgery is fast, out of the hospital the next day, but the full recovery from abdominal surgery takes a while and you know about the possible side effects. On the other hand, your prostate can be fully analyzed post surgery to see if your biopsy was accurate or not.

All treatments have side effect risk, short and long term, and various incidence rates and probabilities. The only thing that really matters if you have a side effect, what happened to me or the next person is only anecdotal. You are basically correct that all treatments have approximately the same success rates for straight forward cases. Whether ADT (Lupron) is recommended will be something the various doctors will have opinions on for your specific situation and their proposed methods.

JNF and Paxton gave you leads on two specific treatments (LDR and SBRT) which you could visit in a day to get expert opinions on their expertise. UW Is a great place also for an opinion on your situation as would be Mayo or anywhere else that is noted for cancer expertise. Good luck on your journey.
Posted 12/16/2019 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Brachy will take into affect what size your prostate (volume study) so if you already know you have a big prostate, ldr brachy will not work. But if your prostate size is A-Okay, then call Moran and make an appointment. He is pretty much the number one doc in that field and he's in your back yard. In and out in 4 hours.
Posted 12/16/2019 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
If prostate size is a problem for Seeds brachytherapy, you can have High Dose Rate brachytherapy. In Detroit is Dr. Alvaro Martinez, one of the premier HDR practitioners. I believe he is at the Cancer Center at the Beaumont Clinic. You can also do a three month course of Avodart and get about 35% reduction in prostate volume.
Posted 12/16/2019 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
As stated by others, The Chicago Prostate Center in Westmont, Illinois has a excellent reputation. I live about 10 minutes from there, very nice facility and world class care. For EBRT/IMRT, etc...I was treated by Dr. Ann McCall of the University of Chicago. I think she is still at the suburban location at Sliver Cross hospital, in the western burbs of the city. It is off I-355....she was the best of all my doctors, just really at the top of her game. It is the UC, just out west of the city, so u do not have to deal with all the issues of Hyde Park. Best of Luck, MM
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