Who should be part of my medical team?

Yes, a Genito urinary oncologist could make a good addition to your medical staff. You probably could wait for that until after surgery and after you find out whether or not your cancer comes back. That is the type of doctor you want to plan your treatment future if it returns.

If it were me, I would stay with Mayo. If you have a situation where you need a urologist you can find one at that time. I didn’t need any treatment from my urologist for many years after I had my surgery, they don’t get directly involved with advanced treatment.

After surgery they Probablywant you to continue Orgovyx for a year or more, With a Gleeson eight that might give you a better chance of long-term survival.

If in the future you need radiation, you can have Mayo set up how it’s done and then have it done near where you live.

From my decade of personal experience, I'd place a specialized oncologist at the top of the list. Then, supported my a urologist, radiologist and surgeon. The oncologist will direct this team while being impartial to a specific type of treatment, i.e. surgery, drugs, chemo, radiation, clinical trial, etc. There maybe several options for you based on your current condition. But don't wait, time is not your friend and don't be afraid to go for the tough decisions. It just might save your life.

While the urologist likely diagnosed your cancer, and could very likely perform surgery, if you have high risk PC or you have matastisis or reoccurance, you need a medical oncologist to see the big picture. Before you make a primary treatment decision, I think a medical oncologist can benefit greatly in mediating the inevitable tug-of-war between surgeons and radiation oncologists and getting you on a good treatment course. This observation is not a slam at anyone or any profession, just the way it is.

I have a urologist/ surgeon, urologist, oncologist, and pharmacist and nurses at the urologist office who answers the phone when I call or return my call in 5 minutes

A medical oncologist doesn’t specialize in any specific type of cancer. They cannot spend a lot their time studying up on the latest treatments for prostate cancer?

Genito urinary oncologists specialize in cancers of the urological area. They Are much better informed than a medical oncologists about the best and latest treatment for somebody with advanced prostate cancer.

In the 2nd tier, I would suggest a phycologist, and active primary care physician.

I would educate my self by seeing a Radiatiion Oncologist . Investigate LDR & HDR Brachytherapy and SBRT .

As others have said, a multi-disciplinary team...

Starting point may be the urologist, radiation oncologist and medical oncologist...

Yes, a consideration should be their specialization and experience in treating PCa...but what may be even more important may be their style, are they active listeners, are they shared decision makers...

My radiologist is not a specialist in PCa, she deals with a variety of cancers yet she is an active listener and is an advocate for shared decision making. The latter requires you to be informed about the terminology, definitions and guidelines associated with PCa as well as clinical trials that are changing clinical practice.

Same with my oncologist.

If they are in the same practice, that may help coordination - my radiologist and oncologist are, they do. If they are not, well, again, my experience they don't talk with each other. I had one urologist who because I was seeing specialists outside his group's practice say he couldn't help me. Yes, I fired him, no room for hurt evils on my team!

In my 11 years and lessons learned through trial, error and the school of hard knocks, those traits may outweigh the specialization..

It's always a possibility but my experience is nobody on my medical team is "in charge" of coordinating my care, that falls on me. An example, when doing triplet therapy my urologist's office called and asked if I could do the Lupron shot one morning...I said not possible, I'm in the infusion chair at my oncologist's office....! The first oncologist I had while doing triplet therapy did not take charge of my treatment. He made it clear through his actions that he was only overseeing the chemotherapy part.

You may want an active primary care manager who besides overseeing your routine checkups such as your annual physical but can do the speciality referrals - cardio, kidney, psychology as necessary..

Kevin

By Genito I assume you are referring to Genitourinary Oncologist? I am very confused by the overall management approach to prostate cancer. You have urologists/surgeons who want to do RP's, radiation oncololigists who want to do various types of radiation (IMRT, SBRT, brachytherapy, etc), who is the doctor that helps you assess and evaluate all of the different options and select the best path? Mayo Clinic in Rochester doesn't seem to have this type of person, or they don't connect you with that type of person. They send you straight to the Urology Department.

They send you to urology because those doctors are the ones that do the biopsies and the first checks for prostate cancer.

If they find you have an advanced case, that’s when they look for an oncologist to help guide you.

You’ve given no technical information about your particular situation so it’s hard to say any more.