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Any doctor recommendations for treatment at Mayo Clinic AZ?

Posted by gonzaler84 @gonzaler84, Sep 10 10:26am

Hi all,
First time participant. Great forum for ramping fast on prostate cancer. Ty all for your contributions.

Looking to inquire about physicians to request as I explore scheduling my initial meeting at Mayo AZ. Here is what comes up given my situation with Drs when I did a search online:

1. The Urologic Surgeon: Request Dr. Jack R. Andrews, MD
2. The Radiation Oncologist: Request Dr. Sujay A. Vora, MD

Anyone else come to mind that someone in this group can refer? I don't know much about Mayo so your guidance is truly appreciated.

About me: 64, excellent health and no other health issues and no meds currently other than Tamsulosin. I work out 7 days a week and maintain a pretty strict diet: Meditteranean and pescatarian. Occaisionally consume chicken and rarely eat meat.

Current PSA reading: 6

Biopsy came back with following:
Left side: Gleason 9 with tumor involves six of seven cores
Right side: Gleason 7 with tumor involves 4 of 7 cores

There was nothing else reported in the biopsy report other than what I've shared.

I am planning to start treatment pretty quickly. First step is to get the PET scan done which is currently ordered by urologist and sched for wk of 14 Sep.

Based on what I've learned it appears these are two potential routes to treatment:
1. Alternative 1: Advanced Radiation + Hormone Therapy (ADT)
2. Alternative 2: Robotic Radical Prostatectomy (Surgery)

I welcome what other alternative treatments to consider as well. I do not qualify (based on criteria) for Tulsa procedure.

I also want to discuss the SpaceOAR option as it appears this is done together with Alternative 1.

Appreciate if anyone can share feedback on which doctors to request at Mayo AZ.

Lastly, is there a specific number to call the Phoenix location as well to schedule the initial visit?

Thx

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Profile picture for gonzaler84
gonzaler84 | @gonzaler84 | Sep 22 6:46pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "@gonzaler84, new members are not able to send private messages right away. It is a security..." + (show)
Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung

@gonzaler84, new members are not able to send private messages right away. It is a security measure to prevent bad actors from spamming the community 🙂 Naturally the value in an online community are the public group discussions because they not only help the people actively participating in them, but also the people reading them and learning from them. We all learn together.

You can submit a request for a specific physician. Who you will be assigned willl depend on multiple factors, including availability and specialty related to your specific diagnosis.

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@colleenyoung Ty Colleen for the update. I think someone else replied and said new members need to wait 30 days before sending PMs. That's fine with me.

The group discussions have been a huge resource for my synch w GU oncologist today. Ty for your helping to keep the discussion groups active and are an enormous resource for patients.

Re: Mayo request for physicians - I've submitted the names so will wait to see what comes back...

Cheers...

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Profile picture for taxilou117
taxilou117 | @taxilou117 | Sep 23 6:08am
In reply to @colleenyoung "@gonzaler84, new members are not able to send private messages right away. It is a security..." + (show)
Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung

@gonzaler84, new members are not able to send private messages right away. It is a security measure to prevent bad actors from spamming the community 🙂 Naturally the value in an online community are the public group discussions because they not only help the people actively participating in them, but also the people reading them and learning from them. We all learn together.

You can submit a request for a specific physician. Who you will be assigned willl depend on multiple factors, including availability and specialty related to your specific diagnosis.

Jump to this post

@ilisia58
I have been treated by Dr. Singh (oncologist) with ADT & Zytiga since January of 25. I also had 25 sessions of proton radiation for prostate cancer that had metastasized to my pelvis. I have been very pleased with my care at Mayo in PHX.

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1 reply
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taxilou117 | @taxilou117 | Sep 23 6:10am
In reply to @taxilou117 "@ilisia58 I have been treated by Dr. Singh (oncologist) with ADT & Zytiga since January of..." + (show)
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@ilisia58
I have been treated by Dr. Singh (oncologist) with ADT & Zytiga since January of 25. I also had 25 sessions of proton radiation for prostate cancer that had metastasized to my pelvis. I have been very pleased with my care at Mayo in PHX.

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@ilisia58
The radiation oncologist who treated me is Brady Laughlin-excellent.

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trki | @trki | Sep 23 3:47pm

My husband saw Dr Andrews at Mayo initially… he only saw him in person a couple of times , otherwise saw Residents and a PA .. the last time Dr Andrews saw him for a bladder scan he didn’t know who my husband was . My husband had a complicated presentation with frequent UTIs, resistant to antibiotics history of bladder cancer , low grade prostate cancer and rapidly increasing PSA .. he went from zero positive cores on biopsy 2022 to 7 positive cores with Gleason 9, PSA 46.6… he had radiation and ADT.. he was happy with his radiation oncologist at Mayo .. ended up going to the City of Hope and seeing Dr Bryce who is amazing .

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tbgb50 | @tbgb50 | Sep 24 6:55am

My wife had a number of medical issues that required seeing different specialists over the years. Since we live 20 minutes from Mayo Phoenix she went there. You need to set you expectations in the sense that you may not get to see the doctor(s) you researched. Essentially you are assigned a doctor. Some of the best, most experienced doctors pick and choose cases I assume they find interesting. If you can get the doctor you want, the wait times can vary quite a bit.

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rgeisler | @rgeisler | Sep 25 7:13am

I am currently waiting for surgery with Dr. Andrew’s on Oct. 21. I have three lesions, Gleason 9 and two Gleason 6. I was given the two options and after talking with Dr. Andrew Opt for surgery with a possibility of radiation afterward. I have been in Mayo system for many years and treatment has always been top notch.

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2 replies
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Jeff Marchi | @jeffmarc | Sep 25 11:26am
In reply to @rgeisler "I am currently waiting for surgery with Dr. Andrew’s on Oct. 21. I have three lesions,..." + (show)
Profile picture for rgeisler @rgeisler

I am currently waiting for surgery with Dr. Andrew’s on Oct. 21. I have three lesions, Gleason 9 and two Gleason 6. I was given the two options and after talking with Dr. Andrew Opt for surgery with a possibility of radiation afterward. I have been in Mayo system for many years and treatment has always been top notch.

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@rgeisler
The only Gleeaon score the doctors look at is the highest number. The sixes are not relevant to treatment.

Did the PSMA PET scan show there was nothing Found outside the prostate? Usually, they will talk about doing surgery, but will only discuss needing radiation if it is an aggressive case. It sounds like your Gleason nine may have some other aggressive issues.

Were any of these things found in the biopsy intraductal, ductal, large cribriform, Seminal vesicle invasion, EPE or ECE. (Extraprostatic extensions extra capsular extensions). They can make the cancer much more aggressive. These type of problems can be why they have talked to you about doing radiation after.

I had a prostatectomy 16 years ago and 3 1/2 years later it came back and I had to have salvage radiation. For me, it’s come back three more times since then and I’ve been a lot of different drugs, but after 16 years, I’m still alive even though I have an aggressive genetic problem of BRCA2, I’ve been undetectable for the last 35 months. Good drugs.

You should be aware that prostate cancer is a chronic disease for almost all of us, It is very seldom a deadly disease.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 1 11:37am
In reply to @rgeisler "I am currently waiting for surgery with Dr. Andrew’s on Oct. 21. I have three lesions,..." + (show)
Profile picture for rgeisler @rgeisler

I am currently waiting for surgery with Dr. Andrew’s on Oct. 21. I have three lesions, Gleason 9 and two Gleason 6. I was given the two options and after talking with Dr. Andrew Opt for surgery with a possibility of radiation afterward. I have been in Mayo system for many years and treatment has always been top notch.

Jump to this post

@rgeisler, I wanted to add my welcome. As you know, you are in good hands at Mayo Clinic. As you prepare for your upcoming surgery, you may be interested in these related discussions:
- Prostate cancer surgery: What can I expect & prepare for?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/48-about-to-have-prostate-removal-surgery/
- RARP scheduled: what to expect for recovery & day-to-day life?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/rarp-scheduled-what-to-expect-for-day-to-day-life-recovery/
- Prostatectomy scheduled at Mayo: more questions about what to expect https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/prostatectomy-scheduled-1st-of-the-week-more-questions/

You can use the group search to find other answers to questions you might have: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/prostate-cancer/

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oldoz | @oldoz | Oct 1 1:49pm

Dr. Mitchell Humphreys did mine in Phoenix. Never had any leakage and PSA still undetectable at 18 months.
I originally went to get a HoLEP procedure that he does. After much more testing the prostate removal was the decision.

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