Looking for oncology recommendations in Los Angeles and surrounding cities.

[Daddysdaughter]

Hi, currently my father has a medical oncologist at Keck USC. We are happy with her but I am looking for Simone that specializes in prostate cancer treatments. My father is 77 prostatectomy, Gleason 9, now newly Diagnosed Advanced PC , hormone resistant. PSA 0.0 to 3.6 in 6 months. On Lupron just had PET with choline to find he has metastasis to lymph throughout his body. No meta tonorgan or bone only Lymph.. input is appreciated..

Thank you all for your support and kind words. It's so comforting to know I can ask questions freely here and there is a wealth of information..

[patandemma]

Are you talking about Tanya Dorff,MD at USC Keck?

She is listed as a genitourinary oncologist but most of her publications and presentations at national conferences are devoted to prostate cancer. I have consulted with her--knows a lot and took all the time necessary to give me straight answers

Otherwise Mark Scholtz,in Marina del Rey is an outstanding prostate-only oncologist

[Daddysdaughter in reply to patandemma]

How did you know? Yes she is very patient and explains everything. But after The results at Mayo the radiology oncologist recommended chemo as the first line because of the significant metastasis through lymph nodes. I will look into Mark Schultz. Thank you

[Attitude67]

Sort to hear this. Gill at Keck is one of the best Urologists in the country. You say that his PSA went from 0.00 to 3.6 in six months. If you mean that happened after a three month Lupron shot this would not signify he is hormone resistant PCa. It means that he needs another shot. If Lupron isn't working there are other drugs to try. If he hasn't had a radiation wash out now would be the time to consider one. City of Hope may be able to offer you a few more choices.

[Daddysdaughter in reply to Attitude67]

He has been on Lupron. GIll wasn't his urologist it was Desai that did his robotic surgery. He also received radiation treatment immediately following. His PDA was not detectable from sept 2015 till November 2016 then it began to increase. He has been on Lupron, he tried casidex but side effects were to strong. When his PSA began to rise I asked if it would be helpful for him to restart the casodex. She said it wouldn't make a difference. So Xtandi he will begin next week. I just want to make sure that he has the BEST treTment plan and options.

[Attitude67 in reply to Daddysdaughter]

It appears she is following the standard practice. Ask her whether 5 mg. of Predisone twice daily along with the Xtandi might help. It reduces inflammation and usually helps reduce the PSA. Testosterone might be worth considering. I'm not sure whether USC is offering it but it is in use on the East Coast and Harvard might offer it.

[motosue in reply to Daddysdaughter]

Dr. Shultz is my doctor. He is great. Been seeing him for 7 yrs. Kept my PSA undetectable.

[Hidden in reply to Daddysdaughter]

Was his testosterone ever measured following the start of ADT Lupron? That's an important step in order to determine whether there is castrate resistance. I ask because it sounds like resistance developed so quickly, faster than the average.

[Daddysdaughter in reply to Hidden]

Testosterone was 7

[Dan59]

Tonya Dorf is excellent, but from my years with this disease and from other Patients Dr, Sholtz at Prostate Oncology Specialist ,in Marina Del Ray would be my first choice in this Country. and if I was within1,000 miles of LA < I would be there. Lucky to arrive in Coastal Alaska for the first sunny day in 30, having a great time!

Dan

[Daddysdaughter in reply to Dan59]

Thank you Dan! Enjoy the sun!

[Bobbylee]

Prostate oncology Specialists.....Marina DelRay

[Daddysdaughter]

Thank you. I just am making sure that my father get the best treatment available for him. Not just the standard of care medications.

[JoelT]

Speak to the oncologist, no matter who you use, about early use of chemotherapy as already suggested or the early use of Zytiga (LATITUDE study). Just because a doctor makes a suggestion you should always ask questions about alternatives. You need to make your decisions for your own healthcare.

Joel

[AlanMeyer]

Another oncology office in LA that I've heard a lot about is Compassionate Oncology. See:

compassionateoncology.org

I don't know if they're better or worse than USC or Dr. Scholz. My guess is that all of them are really excellent and you won't go wrong with any of them.

Alan

[Lunbo]

Contact Dr. Agus at USC Westside Prostate Cancer Cntr. 310 272 7640. I'm age 80, 16 years with PCa, and consulted with Dr. Agus 5 yrs. ago with CRPC went on Zytiga (by- passed taxotere) with Lupron & Xgeva (for bone mets) and now on Xtandi, He is world class, treated many like Dennis Hopper, Lance Armstrong, Andrew Grove,(CEO at Intel), et al. Wish you the best.

George