Senator Bob Casey PCa

Just another case of famous people immediately choosing surgery while overall NIH statistics show that slightly more men have chosen radiation as their primary treatment for prostate cancer in recent years. (That trend is easily understood because almost all the men now choosing AS were sent to surgery in the past).

Lots of opinions on why this is. Guess that the urologists have seen them first, some have celebrity status of their own, and recommend what they provide.

mattam said...
Sen. Bob Casey diagnosed with PCa at age 62. He said he was shocked by the diagnosis, but that he has an excellent prognosis. He is opting for surgery.

Probably sounds a lot better than a bunch of radiation treatments.



https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/politics/bob-casey-prostate-cancer/index.html

just getting it out is an attractive proposition and your uro, your first point of contact, will normally push that option because he is a surgeon

NJFred said...
Thoughts that (often) diagnosing Uros "push" for surgery are consistent with my experience. When my Uro confimed my PCA, his comfort included: "we can get it out of you quickly." Of course, he would be doing the "carving."

I feel lucky that my PCa Uro, who has done well over a 1000+ surgeries, recommended AS. He’s a progressive thinker.

As a fellow Pennsylvanian with Senator Casey, I wonder who his doc is.

After receiving Gleason 3+4 biopsy results, I discussed treatment options with my Uro. He first said both surgery and radiation have equal success as curative treatments. He explained risks and potential side effects of each. His only statement toward surgery was I would most likely recover from it well due to my age (57) and being in good physical condition. He then explained he had nothing to gain from me choosing surgery as it would be performed by another doctor who specializes in Urological surgery. He then told me he would make money if I chose Brachytherapy (at his hospital) as he would be involved with the seed placement. He sent me home with a book explaining all procedures and recommended other books for information. Told me to take at least one week before I made a decision and to stay off the damn internet! I found him to be both professional and impartial concerning my treatment decision.

DjinTonic said...
After my uro/surgeon's nurse told me on the phone that my biopsy showed PCa…

I was 2-weeks post biopsy and couldn’t get a call from urology. I called and no call back. I called my primary care doc and the nurse said she’d move things along. It didn’t happen. I finally pulled the path results up on the patient portal and had to use Dr. Google to explain to me that I had cancer. When I finally got to see the urologist it was 5-minute meeting where I was told “you have cancer and you need to decide what you want to do about it.” I was given a booklet that listed the options. That was it. I was really on my own. I didn’t go to forums like this so I talked to two running friends, both MDs who’d been through this and both said “it’s cancer, get it out of there.” So, I opted for surgery but I traveled 5 states away to have the procedure done. Knowing what I know now would I have done anything different? I don’t play that game. It is what it is but I am definitely considering relocating to someplace with better options for healthcare in the future. We only have two facilities here, the one that didn’t give a crap and one with a religious affiliation that I refuse to have anything to do with.

your car breaks down and you go to a ford dealer. do you honestly think he's gonna send you to the toyota dealership? why do you think so many men have been mangled by the prostate snatcher?

Mumbo said...
Where is John Dutton’s hospital, Bozeman? (I am watching Yellowstone currently)

I had to look that up to see what you were referring to. I never watch TV and haven’t in decades, but have heard that there is a TV show called “Yellowstone” but know very little about it. However, the daughter on one of my running partners bought a house in Hamilton, MT recently and said that they film the police station scenes there at the Hamilton police station which is a block from their house. The crews take over the town, change signage, and such.

Some movie just used Billings, where I live, as a location and went around neighborhoods looking for older vehicles to use. They left a flyer on my ‘72 Ford pickup and my neighbor’s ‘83 Volvo. I ignored it but he called and got his car in the movie, parked in a hotel lot. They paid him $200. It was a big deal for his teenage son who got to stay around all day and watch how a movie was made. He told me who the stars were but, since I dob’t watch anything, I’d never heard of them.

Edit: I just found this for you. It lists filming locations: https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2018/06/yellowstone-filming-locations.html

“Also in the first episode, "Half the Money", Beth meets Carter at the Bozeman General Hospital. There is a Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, MT, but all the scenes were filmed at the Community Medical Center in Missoula.”

Post Edited (VinceInMT) : 1/8/2023 6:57:33 AM (GMT-8)

We don't know:

When he was diagnosed. Was it last week or 6 months ago?
What his specific situation is. MRI results, other conditions, # positive cores, etc?
Where he is getting treated. We can assume in PA, if so, probably at one of the 'big 3' in PA: Penn, Fox Chase, Pitt.?

Any debate about whether he chose quickly or slowly, how much information he was given, and why he chose surgery is pointless. Especially pointless is criticism of his choice (and in violation of one the basic rules of this forum).

I would expect, knowing what I know about him, that he has plenty of people to get him the best information available, and he has the resources to engage with the very best medical people around.

Why, again, are we having the surgery/radiation argument? Mr. Casey has PC, and IMO, any celebrity who publicly talks about PC, and his own PC especially, is a good thing. Why? PC is NOT "the good cancer". Men DO die of PC, every day. If Mr. Casey's case helps pass THAT word, that is a good thing.

Chief surgeon at JH at the time told me if it were him, “I’d have seeds”.

Chief radiologist at the University of Tennessee told me if it were him, “I’d have surgery.”

My experience was mostly positive with little strong arming. The only doctor I interviewed who I wonder if he had my best interest at heart was the surgeon I chose. I wonder to this day if what he did to me was intentional or not.