First Appointment at Mayo Clinic in Arizona

Proton radiation 2010 at Loma Linda Hospital..one of the first to treat prostate cancer with proton radiation. From what I have learned over the years, the issue of radiation or surgery depends on the level of cancer. I had Gleason 3 plus 3 and PSA: 6.47 I notice the PSA increased 2 points over one year; biopsy and confirmation of localized slow growth prostate cancer. Even today, many physicans are not well informed at to proton radiaiton thereapy, so "you" must do your homework and ask the correct questions which means "you" must be educated on all metrics of this disease. Always get a sccond opinion..even perhaps a third. Many insitutions who provide proton radiation like Mayo do not accept Medicare Advantage. I have TriCare for Life which paid the entire bill which was nearly $100K. This did ot include the rental car and accommodation for the 2 1/2 months at Loma Linda. Now the treatment is much shorter..and that depends on the gravity of the cancer. Lastly, each morning, I would meet with various men who were awaitng their turn..breif convesations would commence. I recall that over 60% of the clients were physicans. This validated my decision to forgo surgery and elect proton radiation as a life decision. Again, measure all the metrics, obtain different opinion and give some weight to the comments on this site. Cheers!

Thank you so much for your candid answer. My husband finally made his decision to have surgery and pretty much came to the same conclusion you did. His surgery is on June 5 and we will be traveling to Mayo on May 25. I have to say we both have a peace about his decision, but there is definitely so much unknown and it is still scary. I'm glad that you are doing well and it does give us hope. Again, thank you for your response, we really appreciate it!

jrhamp (@jrhamp great post but I need to correct one thing; Mayo AZ is the only one that won't accept an Advantage plan. Contact Mayo MN and Mayo FL to see what Advantage plans they accept.

I considered my myself younger. (68). No other issues. Went for a routine check due to frequency of urination. Agreed to biopsy due to an elongated prostate. 1 out 12 samples cancer. my PSA was 1.2. (normal). It took me 15 sec to say surgery. Dr tried to convince me to do ultrasound(not Mayo) or nothing at all. I felt like this was the only option to possibly get rid of it. Sort of like a total breast removal. Everything else left the possibility. The Dr had a 85% success on incontinence and impotence.(his data) I thought. good enough. Little over 4 yrs all PSA < .1 and pet scan was clear. I am both incontinent and impotent. I can live with both. (not easy mentally) but I appear to be cancer free. Would I make the same decision again. Probably.

I am glad you feel good about your decision. Did you feel confident in your surgeon? Had he had many RP surgeries under his belt? Does he give any explanation as to why you are among the 15% that are incontinent and impotent? It's always frightening to put your quality of life into another's hands.

Glad you felt comfortable with your decision. I’m wondering why you were treated? A Gleason score of 6 doesn’t indicate you have cancer and a PSA is just a check engine light. Anyways, glad you’re doing well.

I live in Oregon. I am entering year 4 of stage 4 prostate cancer. Interesting thing happened during my second opinion. My second opinion oncologist was wonderful. I learned lots, and very glad I did it. Based on my needs she recommended OHSU. Why? She is an oncologist in the prostate cancer loop, knows the latest and greatest innovations and is well known in our Oregon prostate cancer community. She recommended OHSU. Why? Her dad is my age with stage 4 prostate cancer and she wanted the best for him, so that where he goes. Based on her recommendation for her dad I changed to OHSU. The place gives me hope. At Stage 4, in the absence of cure, hope helps, hope helps a lot.

Hi, I live in Oregon, too. Would you kindly recommend any prostate cancer doctors you've liked at OHSU—and any other doctors in Portland such as urologists and oncologists that you've found helpful locally regarding prostate cancer? I'm most appreciate it. I hope you're doing well. Best wishes.

My OHSU Oncologist is Dr. Sokolova. For best results use the Physician Advice and Referral Service at OHSU.

OHSU is a NCI-Designated Cancer Center. There are 72 NCI-designated cancer centers around the country, funded by NCI “to deliver cutting-edge cancer treatments to patients.”