Dear Tony
If there was anyone I would like to help more with your present stage of PC, it would be you! I don't have any first-hand experience with how to deal with stage T3 or T4 PC. However, I would like to give you these thoughts. You should seek a 2nd and possibly a 3rd opinion with one of the best prostate cancer medical oncologists in the U.S. that you can find. If you have to travel far away from Las Vegas, consider doing it if at all possible. Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, John Hopkins in Baltimore, Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston would be considered some of the top specialty hospitals in the U.S. treating prostate cancer who have top medical oncologists on their staff.
The following is a link to a list of top doctors in the U.S. treating prostate cancer by specialty, including medical oncologists. It is part of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website which I consider to be a fantastic resource for prostate cancer patients.
http://www.prostate-cancer.org/resource/name.html
I note that the list contains the name of a medical oncologist at the National Cancer Institute in Neveda where you apparently have already received some advice. Perhaps you have consulted with this doctor.
Medical Oncologist
Nicholas J. Vogelzang
Nevada Cancer Institute
One Breakthrough Way
10441 W. Twain Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89135
702-822-5100
Nevertheless, in your situation you owe it to yourself to at least get a 2nd opinion for another top medical oncologist.
I am giving you the links to an expert medical oncologist that I consulted with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston before making my treatment decision. He is not only an expert in his field, but he is a wonderful human being. You might even be able to get him on the phone for a preliminary conversation about
your situation. Based on his resume, I expect that he has had much experience in treating patients with later stage PC. If I ever got to your stage of PC, I would consult with him and feel confident that he would lead me in the right direction.
http://www.dana-farber.org/abo/news/press/2006/a-oliver-sartor-md-national-prostate-cancer-expert-joins-dana-farber.html
http://www.dana-farber.org/pat/dana-farber/detail.asp?personid=753&group=%28Clinician%29
I assume that you can probably find experts closer to you on the west coast, but these are my thoughts as I am more familiar with resources on the east coast.
The following is also a Dana Farber website with a list of all of the clinical trials for prostate cancer in the U.S. You can sign into the website (I haven't done it), indicate your PC profile and they will find clinical trials that match your profile. Obviously, you still need to be guided by a top prostate cancer medical oncologist before considering any participation in a clinical trial.
http://danafarber.org/res/clinical/trials/adult/
Yes, you are very young and darn it, I want you to be a winner in your fight against this rotten disease! I am glad that you are going in with a fighting attitude. May God bless you and your wife during this tough time.
Dave
P.S. I get the impression that any form of radiation treatment for your present stage of cancer has been ruled out. Hopefully a medical oncologist would advise you if any form of radiation treatment would be possible combined with hormone treatment. If you can get any form of radiation treatment, go for the proton beam radiation which is considered the safest form of beam radiation treatment today. The nearest center to you is the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
68, Biopsy 9/27/06, Stage T1c, PSA 7.1, Gleason 6 [less than 5% in two areas], Gleason 7 (3+4) [less than 20% in third area], negative DRE, bone scan and MRI. Starting proton radiation therapy 2/22/07.
Post Edited (pcdave) : 2/25/2007 9:22:48 PM (GMT-7)