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Welcome New Member WilliamGary Looking for Brachytherapy Info

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Posted 4/7/2015 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hello WG and welcome to HW. I gave you your own thread so that your questions would not be lost in the shuffle and so that we could welcome you properly.

I'm sure you will get some good leads re brachy docs but...I edited out your personal info from the body of your post. There are just too many spammers looking to harvest such personal info. You can activate an email address via your profile and then folks can contact you directly.

Also, while you are in your profile, it would be helpful if you would enter some key stats about yourself e.g. age, PSA, Gleason score, number of postive cores, etc. That way people will know you a little better and can respond a little more intelligently to your posts.

Jim aka Tudpock18

Hi CT:

Could you please help me with your Doctor's name who performed your "seeding". I live in Wethersfield and will go really anywhere in CT to find a good doctor. Actually I would go anywhere in the US but would like to stay local for possible follow up and such. I would love to have this information.

You can send an email to me at: (Personal info edited out)
I really appreciate your help.

Oh, if anybody else has a great guy for brachtherapy I'd love to hear from you as well.

Gary
Post Edited By Moderator (Tudpock18) : 4/7/2015 12:28:18 PM (GMT-6)
Posted 4/7/2015 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
WilliamGary- welcome to the HW forum. I cannot answer your questions but someone will be along to help you, I'm sure.
Posted 4/7/2015 9:10 PM (GMT 0)
No question - go see the "Brachy Master" (or at least the East Coast one) - Michael Zelefsky at MSKCC.
Posted 4/7/2015 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Jim for posting my question. I do appreciate it. I added some additional information in my profile. I have been diagnosed with PCa. I received my results over the phone: Gleason 6 2 cores, three additional areas. My Uro will give me additional information on 4/15/15.

Soon as he indicated my biopsy was positive I told him I wished a second opinion on the slides and they have been forwarded to Memorial Sloan Kettering. Hopefully those results will be back for the intial consultation with my Uro.

My dad had Prostate Cancer and had Brachytherapy and was treated successfully. If my Uro and 2nd opinion indicate a true Gleason 6 I will consider Active Surveillance, FLA and Brachytherapy (if appropriate). I won't be in any rush as I have learned a great deal from this site and others.

I'm also looking for a new local Uro because mine is way too busy!
Posted 4/8/2015 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
WmG: welcome aboard on a boat you didn't want to sail. The good news is the crew here are a very wise and experienced bunch of compsionate folks.

My signature reveals a very brief BT story. That said, please don't hesitate to ask any and all questions that might arise pertaining to "the seeds".
Posted 4/8/2015 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Gary,

If you are open to other therapies, I suggest you also talk to the following experts:

Active Surveillance: MSKCC would be my pick in the NY Metro area because they have a good radiologist to do mpMRI targeted biopsy.

Focal Ablation: Jonathan Coleman at MSKCC is their expert in all kinds of focal ablation - a great person to talk to to get the pros and cons of each (including FLA)

HDR brachy:MSKCC does both HDR and LDR

SBRT: Alan Katz in Flushing, NY is the leading practitioner.

Surgery: Ash Tewari would be my top choice

I recommend you have your slides read by Bostwick or Epstein rather than MSKCC - While (as you can tell) I think they have depth in a great many areas, I don't know that they have dedicated expertise in reading prostate biopsies. You'd be surprised by all the famous name places that don't.

- Allen
Posted 4/8/2015 10:59 AM (GMT 0)
Gary,
I had mine done at the Schifler Cancer Center in Wheeling WVA. Doctor Gregory Merrick is very highly regarded in this area. I could not be happier with the treatment or the results. You can Google him for more info.
Best to you.
Posted 4/8/2015 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
I'll also extend my welcome WilliamGary; sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things. In terms of East Coast references I'll second the input from Allen and GOP - can't find much better guys out there than Zelefsky and Merrick!

You asked "Oh, if anybody else has a great guy for brachtherapy I'd love to hear from you as well." I'm a Midwest guy, had my LDR BT done at the Chicago Prostate Cancer Center by Dr. Brian Moran, another one of "the best" when it comes to LDR BT. Just had my 2-1/2 year follow up and I continue to do great, no issues, very happy with my choice. Back in my early days I started a thread that talked about my decision, and includes a narrative of the day I received my implants. This link will take you to page 2 of that thread where the narrative is: www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=2499920&p=2

Continued best to you!
Posted 4/8/2015 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
Although I was very happy with my doctor, Dr. Terk, I live in FL. I have had some discussions with Yooper's doctor, Dr. Brian Moran. I really liked him and he was very nice to me. Although he did not do my procedure, he made himself available to me. He even called me from home and gave me his home phone. Looking at Yooper's results, I do not think you could go wrong with him.

Ypu can see what I went through by clicking on the link in my signature.

Best of luck to you.
Posted 4/8/2015 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much everyone for this thread. This is great, and I'm following closely.

I'm wondering how you guys (and especially the large # of cores and 3+4s) decided to do brachy mono-therapy rather than brachy + external? Also, Yooper, I see you did some hormones prior. Was there a specific reason?

Sorry if these questions are too specific -- we're just reaching the final decision point, and brachy is still very much on the table.

Warmly,

Mary
Posted 4/9/2015 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
I had Dr. Brian Moran for my treatment. I am very satisfied with the outcome. He is in the Chicago area.
Posted 1/26/2017 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
After a very long absence I wanted to let you know I made out.

First a little story. When I went to my local uro who and told him that I was not going to have surgery but instead have brachytherapy he motioned to his secretary. Within a few minutes she came in with all my medical records and my uro handed them to me and said, "Gary I wish you well." I couldn't believe it, he didn't want any part of me after I said I wasn't going to have surgery.

Okay, I listened to this forum and made an appointment with MSKCC and Dr. Zelefsky. They made the appointment and then called back and said, my Blue Cross from CT would not be accepted by the good doctor. I was disappointed.

I did further study and found an equally wonderful doctor at Mt. Sinai, Dr. Richard Stock. He has performed thousands of procedures and trained people all over the world. Everything I read about him told me this was the guy I wanted to do the procedure.

He had me work with a urologist, Dr. Jed Kaminetsky who is also a great guy. The procedure was done in a surgery center and my total bill was $149.

I am about sixteen months post procedure my PSA went for 4.4 to .9 to .49 and we shall see how much it drops in early March.

When you have this much at stake I would have gone anywhere in the world. I put my faith in Dr. Stock and think it is very well placed.

Thanks to all.
Posted 1/26/2017 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for reporting back in and glad to hear everything has gone so well for you! Having the right practitioner makes a world of difference and clearly you found your guy. It's also pretty clear that your original uro was not your guy. Bravo for taking charge!
Posted 1/26/2017 2:54 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much. I really was remiss on not getting back to the forum, but I'm glad that I did and with good news.

Thanks so much!
Posted 1/26/2017 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
WG,
Congratulations on being proactive with good results. Best wishes for continued success.
Beth n Garu
Posted 1/26/2017 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
WG, it's great to hear from you again. I'm glad everything went so well. Your PSA drops are excellent. You should look forward to many years of normalcy and cure.

Jim
Posted 1/26/2017 1:21 PM (GMT 0)
WG - I am super-glad that you took control of your own situation and that it is turning out so well for you. Your original uro sounds like one of those I would have fired, too. I was concerned when I told my own uro that I was not going to consider surgery, but he surprised me by giving me the referral to the RO that I ultimately used. (I saw his recommendation after seeing another RO that I liked. I liked his referral better.)

I guess the medical service market is somewhat self-managing. If we, the patients, take a modicum of control, we will end up with the docs we prefer, and the docs will wind up with the patients they prefer. We just have to be active and take some responsibility and control. I am glad you did.
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