jc76:

Sorry to hear of your disconcerting and anxiety producing experience with your original urologist at the photon facility.

And I appreciate the excellent posts in response to your original story.

Some (or many) of our negative experiences with healthcare in the US is as a result of the lack of a truly national healthcare system. Providers, perhaps including that urologist, are under constant pressure from administrators to bring in the money. It’s also more money in the doctor’s pocket in lots of cases. That’s one reason that brachytherapy is more and more used in Canada and around the world than it is here, because it is very cost-effective.

On the other hand, use of brachytherapy has sharply declined in the US because of that very cost effectiveness! The financial incentives can be very perverse.

The profit motive reigns supreme in so many U.S. medical institutions and doctors— and as a result, medical schools are teaching it less, creating a downward spiral.

If I’m not mistaken, brachytherapy produces a profit to the doctor and/or facility of about $400, compared to something like $2,400 for external radiation.

I feel fortunate to live in SE Minnesota, only an hour’s drive from Mayo in Rochester, where they have several skilled radiation oncologists experienced with brachytherapy. They also have the equipment to offer proton therapy as well. The doctors at Mayo are salaried, so they have no financial incentive to pile up the charges for a patient. That’s one of the best things that Mayo, and it should be that way everywhere in the U.S., in my opinion.

Thanks again, jc76, for your story. I’m glad you were assertive in your determination to find the best therapy for yourself. Each of us,
along with our spouse or another close friend or relative, need to be our own best advocates!

—Jim (jamesharrison)