Hi Maryvilleman, I had my treatment for prostrate cancer at Mayo Phoenix. I'm not familiar with Rochester, but Phoenix has a wing of the hospital dedicated to radiation treatment of cancer. The Proton Beam treatment center has 5 bays as well. It was built in 2015 and has the latest equipment. My selection of Mayo Phoenix was based on several factors. The first was type of treatment. I chose Proton Beam Therapy, which I believe all Mayo Hospitals offer. Second was living accommodations. My treatment was 4 years ago and then the treatment was between 4 and 9 weeks. The cancer team decided the length based on condition of patient and how well they can withstand the treatment. I was lucky to have 4 weeks but met men who had 9. Fortunately for us, we had a place to live in Phoenix area, which is why we chose Phoenix. They also have appartments available next to the hospital for people to live in at no cost while receiving treatment.
Now for the access to services. When I decided on Phoenix, I contacted Mayo and they asked me forward my biopsy information to them. My Gleason was 4+4 In 5 days I was contacted with information that they accepted me. I had first appointment in a week. Since my local urologist hadn't scheduled any scans to determine if the cancer was contained only in the prostrate, they scheduled a series of scans within 3 days and then we met 2 days later and my radiation oncologist said the team had reviewed my results and made the recommendation that I have 4 weeks of radiation and 18 months of ADT treatment. We went through all side effects and then the research on why the ADT was important. It increased my chances of survival from the cancer from 65% to 85%. We agreed to proceed with both treatments and I had my first Lupron shot that day.
Seven weeks later I started the radiation. It's been 4 years and my PSA is still negligible.
The staff at Mayo was fantastic, from the guy who emptied the trash to the oncologist. They were all welcoming and doctors and nurses spent more time with us then we were used to from medical staff. Our first visit lasted an hour and the nurse and doctor didn't try to rush us and were interested in us as people. It seems to be the culture of Mayo. They also have integrated medicine office in the cancer center with classes and support staff. There also is grand piano in the center lobby where anyone can play. Often we sat and listened to some beautiful music.
Finally, you asked about the Braca gene issue. After my treatment,a staff person asked me to participate in a DNA research project and they tested my DNA and didn't find any suspicious genes. However, I have 2 other brothers who had prostrate cancer and I was interested in any hereditary links. Mayo has a division that deals with DNA implications of cancer and have specialist you can talk to. It's available to you regardless which treatment center you use. They determined that our cancers were environmentally caused.
My guess is that you could get comparable treatment at any center.