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Got some new referrals that I needed

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Posted 4/22/2011 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
thanks, alf.

i don't need holidays to eat chocolate, i need a holiday from eating chocolate, lol
Posted 4/22/2011 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
 

David,

Glad to hear you have found a place that will give you some answers and hopefully, come up with a workable plan.  I am waiting for my latest PSA results and just about feel I have had enough and want to just stop going but I know that is foolish.  My last PSA was 3.5 so who knows what this one will be.  Met with my oncologist on Wednesday and he said we will continue as is, no Ht unless we see a big increase in PSA.

Again, glad to hear you are moving forward  in your treatment.

Jerry1

Posted 4/22/2011 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Purg;
I'm glad to see you've decided to see an oncologist and taking the next step that is needed. A fresh start is a great idea!
As Alf said, take some time and enjoy some Easter chocolate cause you know the pastel Peanut M&M's go away this week.

Good Luck Mister!!!!

Dave A.K.A. Slink
Posted 4/22/2011 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
jerry, my friend, thanks, and for the update on your own numbers. i have been thinking about your situation as well. i am hoping to be proven wrong, but i have no reason not to think that i will be seeing a huge spike, that last number of mine tripled in just 7 weeks. scary.

thanks, dave, just don't give me any blue mm's, i have a serious phobia about them. i think there is some satanic symbol on the blue ones.

david in sc
Posted 4/22/2011 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
David:

I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise on the PSA for you. Maybe things will slow down. One never knows.

Anyway, it sounds like you are going to a very good center if they are affiliated with MD Anderson. I would think you will at least see a medical oncologist who specializes in PC. As others have said, a clean start (ie: a fresh look at your whole situation) will be most helpful!

Have you actually made an appointment yet?

Mel

Posted 4/22/2011 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
No, my uro is great, but some of his admin staff is slack, i have to stay on their ass all the time. still no big rush, as i am not planning on actually seeing any one until the next PSA is done, and that's not till the end of May.

This clinic may be my highest level bet without leaving my area too far, i have heard nothing but good things overall with the MD Anderson affiliated centers, so I hope this is the case. The first visit is for general consulation, and then getting set up with the right fit with their physicain staff. I am hoping they have someone well versed or specializes in advanced PC cases. It's all I can ask for at this point.

Much more concerned about the oncology rehab program, the sooner i can start, the better.

david
Posted 4/22/2011 7:13 PM (GMT 0)

The Gibbs association with MD Anderson is through the Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP).

The CCOP Network (LINK) was created as a national mechanism for community-based physicians to partner with academic investigators at the NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs). The primary goal was to accelerate implementation of NCI clinical trials for cancer prevention, control and treatment.  In other words, when MD Anderson runs a clinical trial, the participants can go either to the Houston facility, or to any of the 33 community-based facilities which have signed-up to administer (a limited set of) the trials MDA is running; the current sub-set of trials offered through MDA's CCOP is listed HERE).

MD Anderson gets the benefit of more people involved in the trial faster, and the community-level participants get the advantage of improved access & not having to travel to Houston to participate in a MDA trial.

The CCOP is one of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sponsored programs to raise-the-bar on quality of care delivered at the community hospital-level.  Other NCI-designated CCCs also run similar programs with other community hospitals.  I had previously written a HW post about these NCI programs in THIS thread, which included a link to THIS detailed report.

best wishes, David...

Posted 4/22/2011 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
thanks, casey, and for the better details on this type of center. i can't take credit, it was our brother sancarlos that turned me on to gibbs. this clinic should be able to provide the next level of care i might be needing, or the least, properly access my current situation. i have no intentions of telling the next doctor anything about how i feel about ht in general, i want an un biased opinion, just based on the facts of my case and journey.

david in sc
Posted 4/22/2011 10:24 PM (GMT 0)
David:

I like that idea about having a general consultation and then they decide the best fit.

I know you want to wait until after your PSA in late May, but it might be worth setting up the appointment now (just in case it takes 6 weeks to get in to see them!).

Mel

Posted 4/22/2011 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
Just waiting on my uro's staff to get it together. Friday has come and gone, and not a word. My doctor is at his local office to me, on Mondays, a few blocks away, he will make sure it gets done, I assure you.

David
Posted 4/23/2011 7:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi David, good luck with your new venture, this is a really crazy disease, my SRT has failed also, but my PSA has only risen by 2 points in nearly 4 years, from 0.5 to 0.7 can't work it out, just have to keep plodding on I guess.

My very best wishes to you mate.

Mal.
Posted 4/23/2011 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Mal.

Don't you mean yours went up .2 points in 4 years? You show it going from .5 to .7. While its an upward trend, and no doubt means SRT failure, the velocity is fairly slow. Hope you deal well.

I went from .06 to 1.24 in 6 months, then from 1.24 to 3.81 in 7 weeks, almost afraid to see what I will get at the end of May.
Gee, when I do things, it always has to be first class, lol.

David in SC
Posted 4/25/2011 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi David, yes My Psa went up .2 that is correct,going up very slowly, latest on me is that the Oncologist concedes that SRT has failed, I have microscopic cancer cells circulating somewhere in the old body but they don't know where, but until a met reaches 10mm they can't find it, wondering if you are in same boat, given your PSA maybe the doc's can find something to attack?

Wishing you all the best in your quest to beat this darn disease.

Mal.
Posted 4/25/2011 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, Mal, we seem to be sailing on a similar course. My pathology showed T2C, and downgraded from 4+3 to 3+4, which on paper sounds better, but due to all my pre- and post PSA velocity issues, hasn't helped any in slowing down the cancer. Hopefully, at some point, we will both get some kind of encouraging news. You got 12 years of life up on me, being 58, I am still deeply concerned about my situation.

David in SC
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