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Anyone know an excellent specialist Prostate Cancer Oncologist

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Posted 6/17/2012 2:56 AM (GMT 0)
I have spent all my spare time on this site since Peter's diagnosis and I keep getting different bits of information.  I will sometimes be asking for more clarification, so I do hope you do not get fed up of my questions.  I have just read that it is better to have a specialist PC ongocologist rather than who just treats all cancers.  Are there any members on here who live in Melbourne Australia and know of an excellent specialist in PC.  We are due at The Alfred but I don't think these are specialists in PC but in cancer generally.  Thanks in advance.

64 years old

PSA 9.74  May 2012

Rt apex core biopsy benign

Left apex adenocarcinoma (4 (60%) + 3) + GS7   3mm & 7mm of 2 cores with perineural invasion and a focus of extraprostatic extension

Rt mid core biopsy is benign

Left mid adenocarcinoma (3 + 4 (40%) = GS7  5 & 10 mm of two cores

Rt base core biopsy benign

Left base adenocarcinoma 4 + 4 = 8  8 & 10 mm of two cores

My husband has been receiving testosterone as part of his hormone replacement therapy for a pituitary tumour for the past 15 years in the UK, but nobody thought to check his PSA.  The GP seems to think that the cancer is hormone sensitive.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing? 

 

Posted 6/17/2012 3:46 AM (GMT 0)
billymac is from Australia. If you do a search on posts by Billymac, you can get his email address. He is a veteran member, and probably can help steer you the right way.

Good luck and welcome to HW. I can only say I know how you feel right now. Hopefully you will be able to relax a little once you get more information. I have tried to channel my worry and frustration into a resolve to get the best information, and subsequently be able to direct my doctors to give me the best care. I am not afraid to ask my doctor questions, ask for tests, and seek multiple opinions.

Based on the number of patients a doctor has, I cannot trust him to have my case at his fingertips. I take that as my responsibility.
Posted 6/17/2012 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
Picco,

If you search a bit here you will find threads on testosterone replacement post-surgery, and the concerns it generates for us. In the Cleveland Clinic, Walsh, and Scardino books you'll find discussions of testosterone and PCa. The oldest and most reliable way of controlling PCa has been testosterone deprivation, now done with drugs ("chemical castration"), but in the past done with physical castration. So yes, testosterone has everything to do with PCa. 

In those same discussions, you will also find discussion of the PCa eventually becoming refractory or hormone-independent. This is the point at which the PCa, deprived of testosterone, finds something else to feed on. That point is unpredictable, but for many, will be many years.

Posted 6/17/2012 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
You should post your question on Yananow. Many Aussies on that site.
Posted 10/16/2012 10:00 AM (GMT 0)

G'day Picco,  are you still on this website - I am from Melbourne.  Haven't had the need for an oncologist but I can help you find one.  Have you done so yet?

You can email me if you'd like. 

Sticks aka david

Posted 10/17/2012 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
Many thanks for your post David.  We finally decided on the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Peter's doctor is Dr Tai.  We did see another doctor at The Alfred but finally decided on PMcC.  Actually Peter has been there today to have the gold seeds implanted.  He was not very happy about it LOL  Anyway, he has his CT scan on 29 October and will start the RT four to six weeks later.  RT was the only treatment option for us due to Peter's haemorrhagic stroke at 60.  We live on the Mornington Peninsula so Moorabin is the closest place for Peter's  treatment.  The Alfred meant going in to the city and I just couldn't cope driving through all that traffic virtually every day for eight weeks!

Many thanks for your offer of help.  I couldn't email you as your email address is not listed on your profile. 

Carole

Posted 10/17/2012 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
another great resource is Yana. Google it.

You'll find a ton of Australians on there in database. Their stories and contact info for any questions.
Posted 10/17/2012 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
In the States, your cancer would be treated by a Urologist at this point..If you had a clean bone scan, the urologist would probably recommend removing the prostate surgically or send you off to visit with a Radiation Oncologist who would explain to you how that works..Only after these two specialists had failed to cure you would they turn you over to a medical oncologist for Act 3.....In the States, there are about 150 Medical Oncologists who specialize solely in Prostate Cancer...There are maybe 10 of them who have achieved celebrity status mostly because of the books they write, the prices they charge and the names on their patient list...
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