Anyone with experience with Prostate treatment at a Veterans Administration hospital ?

Beginning about 6 months ago, the VA Hospital where I go for yearly examinations noted that my PSA was elevated. It was 6. They got me to go to the Urology department who did other PSA tests since then and now they say it's 7.9, and are urging me to get a biopsy. I am 70 years old, and in general very good health. There is family history - my Dad who ended up with treatment, and died at 90 of causes not at all cancer related as his PC was contained. My question is related to those who may have had treatment at the VA, and how it went?

I go to the va for some things I also have Medicare you must also, sounds prudent to get a biopsy

Hello WalterK,I go to VA for other stuff not my PC.If you are a RVN Vet you can apply for benefits for Agent Orange.I applied with my local DAV officer.I go to the DAV meetings here and a few vets were happy with their PC doctors,surgery and radiation at VA.I agree with Fairwind,the luck of the draw.Can you see a Dr. in a private practice ? Medicare ?

My husband mainly gets treated by local urologist and radiologist and a genitourinary team at Mass General. He visited other major cancer centers when he was diagnosed wiht Gleason 9 PC two years ago. However, he gets his Lupron shots every three months from VA and visits them for a once-a-year physical as well as the shots. Our area VA is good--no problem getting appointments and meds. However, their doctors aren't always full-time and sometimes not always the same people. Some are retired doctors so possibly not as up to date as at the cancer centers. My husband see VA docs but got radiation from outside the VA. Since he is 100% Agent Orange disabled due to the prostate cancer, he stays in the VA system and will get all his meds from there. Right now, it's Lupron for at least another year. He's on Medicare and has the supplemental insurance and drug plans.

I've been dealing with the VA for nearly 50 years. It used to be very good, but now it's run by a bunch of unaccountable bureaucrats. If you have medicare then get treated outside the VA system by a good experienced urologist.
The medical care at the VA is pretty good, but their systems and follow up are poor. It's hard to get an appointment, getting someone to call you back is a nightmare, and you really don't know what type of doctor you will be getting ranging from poor to excellent.
I would never have a serious condition treated by the VA except if it is a last resort because it takes 5 phone calls and 10 followups for anything outside a normal physical exam and not worth the aggravation. In the last 4 years it took three different interventions from my US senator to get simple things taken care of, and I'm service connected with the highest priority.The VA med system is pretty good and you can get your drugs from them even if you are seeing an outside doctor.

Spouse21 - Thanks. I've been very happy with VA Boston, but I only use them for annual physical, eye, and hearing exams, and an EpiPen prescription that became absurdly expensive under my Medicare Advantage plan. But I've always had good response and follow-up. I was still working when I applied for my original C&P exam for my Agent Orange benefits claim. The morning of my scheduled exam I got a call from the VA saying they needed to reschedule. I explained I'd already taken the day off work for the exam. A half hour later they called back and said they'd found me an available doctor so I could have my exam that day. Compared to a lot of the negative press about the VA in general, I thought that spoke well of the Boston VA.

I have an annual appointment with my VA primary care doc in February and will try to get an appointment at Dana Farber before then. Thus far I haven't had to deal with expensive drugs, but that is about to change.
Jim

Thanks to all who replied to my question about VA Urology care. I have had some real difficulty with my nearby VA Urology. They are totally uncommunicative. Ask a question - never get an answer. Their refusal to answer serious and politely phrased questions is very worrying. It is also a violation of their own protocols. I am very lucky in that I have contact with people who have been willing to guide me toward better care outside the VA. While I am usually very supportive of the VA system, in this case - the onset of prostate problems - they have let me down in the cruelest way - they ignore me.

I just enrolled with the VA system in the Denver area..There is a very large VA Hospital in Denver, plus several outlying clinics that provide basic services plus an Audiologist who does hearing tests and prescribes hearing aids, good ones...

I enrolled primarily to get my Zytiga script filled by the VA after I lost copay assistance provided by the PAN foundation..My status in the VA system is Priority 5 which means everything they provide is virtually no cost, including the Zytiga and Lupron. (they use Eligard). It took a month before I had the Zytiga in hand, lots of hoops to jump through, but all in all, not too bad..

But when it comes to state of the art primary treatment for Prostate Cancer or any cancer for that matter, I think I would stick with my private Medicare doctors who are able to focus more on individual patients and have up to date procedures and equipment available to them..But for the routine stuff, especially things your PCP can handle, they can be very helpful and useful..

A little hint...If you see a specialist, always make an appointment to see that person again at some date in the future..It's relatively easy to change an appointment time or date, even by months..But it's MUCH more difficult to make a NEW appointment to see that specialist....Just don't fail to show up for an appointment, that's a big no-no..If you can't keep or don't want to keep an appointment, just call or go online and cancel or reschedule for a future date