Experienced Permanent Seed Brachytherapy Doctors

I’m in the same boat. What decision on the treatment choice. I’m a Gleason 7 =3 +4. Pet scan negative. Contained to one ROU. I’m thinking between LD brachytherapy or SBRT. Or other suggestion. Tell me what you know and think. Thanks

I go for ldr brachytherapy on 3/25 in Arizona (4+3, PSA 8.81 and contained to prostate based on MRI and PSMA PET). Read a lot and decided on it. Research shows it being just as effective as Ebrt, surgery and other combination therapies with potentially less side effects. I suggest getting 2nd and even 3rd opinions on your biopsy slides. The pathology evaluations seem to be quite subjective based on the 3 I had. One was done at my local center, one at Mayo and one at Johns Hopkins. The Johns Hopkins report seemed much more detailed and it is where Dr. Schultz’s group (PCRI) recommends getting a biopsy read. I also recommend getting AlteraAI, Decipher and Prostox tests as well. These can all help personalize your treatment plan. None of these were ever even suggested by doctors at the 2 surgery and 2 radiology consultations I had 😡. 2 of these were Mayo doctors. That was the extremely irritating part of my decision making process. Conclusion: Be your own advocate. If your cancer is contained to the prostate, you could possibly even avoid adjunct beam radiation and hormone therapy based on the above tests. Unfortunately, with so many of us out there I think many doctors tend to recommend very aggressive standard treatment protocols and move on to the next patient. Sad, but in my opinion true. Some of the medical “industry’s”avoidance of ldr brachytherapy is purely economics. Brachytherapy doesn’t pay as well. All these medical centers have expensive robotic surgery and radiation equipment to pay off. As a result there are few doctors with skill sets necessary to do brachytherapy effectively. Western Radiation Oncology out of California are the best around as far as I’m aware. They do the procedure out of several California locations and the Phoenix one I’m scheduled at. Here’s a link to a pretty in depth video from them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZTK6IcGI-w

All the best no matter what option you choose.

@gshep Not sure where you’re located, but I believe Memorial Sloan Ketterling may also be a good brachytherapy option. I’m in Minnesota 🥶

Who is going to do your LD Brachy in Arizona

Hey @gshep

A Western Radiation Oncology doctor. I think Dr. Ankit Agarwal will perform the procedure. (https://westernradiationoncology.com/about-us/ankit-agarwal/). They have other doctors and use other radiation treatments as well. The big advantage they have is the hundreds of brachytherapy procedures they perform each year. That expertise is necessary to perform the procedure effectively. They book operating room time at medical centers throughout California and also the one I’m scheduled at in Phoenix. In my case, I forwarded all my prostate reports to them and had a video consult with Dr. Agarwal. After determining that my cancer was a fit for ldr brachytherapy they scheduled me for the first available slot which was at the Arizona medical center (they can usually get you in 3-4 weeks out). I’m flying down the day before and home the day after. You would need to check with your insurance to see if they would cover them. I have a Medicare Advantage plan that allows using out of network providers. If yours doesn’t you might be able to talk them into it since it’s just as effective and way cheaper than any surgery or beam radiation options. Of course paying out of pocket is also an option and could possibly be less than copays for other more expensive procedures. All I did was email them to get the ball rolling. Best wishes for a long and fruitful journey.

We are thinking the same thing. I had a consult with Dr kurtzman

Dr Jodan Hill does brachytherapy at MDAnderson in Phoenix. Excellent!

I would be interested in talking with you

Hi @gshep . No problem. We can chat privately too although I'm happy to share almost anything openly with the other participants. I think that can be helpful to all in our "special" community. 😉 Up to you.