Doctor Charles drake anyone seeing him

[Bob10]

Please Tell me about your experience with doctor Charles Drake if anyone seeing him

[RyderLake2]

I am not being treated by Dr. Drake but he is a very knowledgeable doctor particularly in the field of immunology. Good luck!

[cesanon]

Is he taking new patients?

[tarhoosier]

I have seen him for going on two years. According to him most of his patients are castrate resistant or nearly so, more than half. He sees patients on Tuesdays and the rest is teaching, research and leading the urology fellows he supervises. (Fellows=advanced training for doctors). He has a fine patient interaction manner, humorous when appropriate, quite knowledgeable of course. His specialty is immune research and treatment. I have plenty of time when I am with him, no rush, no hurry. Appointments are on time or nearly so. He has a nurse practitioner who is his contact when the patient needs assistance. My appointments have had a fellow involved to cover questions and recent history or complaints and then Drake enters to address details of treatment. I was on an every 3 month schedule until this year and I am now on every 6 month until some change, I suppose. It takes some heightened awareness to deal with the vortex of Manhattan for this country boy. But I manage. Subway #1 line, Broadway, goes nearly right to his building. I thought about changing my care a year ago and interviewed at Prostate Oncology Specialists in Marina del Rey California, an even longer trip for care but decided that I need to be seen by someone who works with patients who are where I am going to be in the future (CRPC) moreso than where I am now, hormone sensitive. I like him personally, he is young for someone in such a position, he came from Johns Hopkins so was lured by opportunity at Columbia-Presbyterian. His limited patient contact means he deals with fewer patients overall than a full time clinical practitioner so the one day a week situation concerns me not.

Check him online, use your preferred search tool to find his lectures or event presentations to find his flavor. The person you see there will be similar to the clinical experience.

[Hidden]

I have been seeing Dr Drake going on 2 years since Dr Myers retired. He has recommended Provenge and now Chemotherapy. I have an aggressive form of PC and currently on Jevtana after waiting 5 months from finishing Taxotere. PSA started doubling every month. He is very good, patient and answers all your questions. His office is very responsive. He is very excited about some immunotherapy clinical trials he has going on. I see him next week hopefully to discuss next options. I am at the end of the line having used and failed Xtandi. Erleada and Zytega did not work after failing Xtandi. Looking for his input on a clinical trial when chemo stops working. I can let you know how my next appointment goes on the 19th.

[podsart in reply to Hidden]

I also have been seeing dr drake since Dr Myers retired. I am , apparently, part of a group of dr Myers patients who was given Xtandi while at a low tumor burden and low PSA. I understand there is a group, probably 6-7 of us that went to dr drake. Our group is in the world of Supra hi levels of T , probably due to the action of Xtandi. This puts us, per Dr drake, in a different universe where the information re Pca activity does not conform to that of those in the non Supra T environment. Supra T is not well understood.

I also find he has a great bedside manner, extremely intelligent and doesn’t rush you normally. I find reaching him when you are out of his office the biggest weakness. To be fair, reaching dr Myers via his portal was an exceptional dr/patient process.

I wonder if it makes sense , especially for those who came from dr Myers, to share our experiences Re dr drake on an ongoing basis, to get an ongoing understanding of his methods and thought process re Pca as time goes on, so that we can compare to dr Myers philosophy, or other top name Pca drs in the USA.

One area lost with dr Myers retirement is his vast supplement knowledge and related research, which he integrated and adjusted over time as Pca meds improved.

[Hidden in reply to podsart]

Good to hear from others with the same experiences. I too miss Dr Myers' knowledge and his philosophy of treating the whole body. I find my local oncologist refers me to other specialists. I have not been to Columbia for actual treatments but use Dr Drake more as a consultant like Dr Myers. I have treatments and tests near home. Hoping this visit offers some hope besides having chemo until it stops working. Looking for advice on clinical trials including those not just ongoing at Columbia. This next appointment is a critical crossroads for me.

[podsart in reply to Hidden]

Wishing u much luck

Where do u Live?

How does Dr drake integrate with your local onc?

Does dr drake ever speak directly with local onc?

If they disagree, how would you decide which way to go?

Are u considering PSMA?

Stay in touch

[podsart in reply to podsart]

Sorry seems earlier u said live in Rochester ny

Also seems like u explored PSMA in USA , ie trials

I was thinking , if need arose, to go to Germany to get the PSMA treatment as they seem to be world leaders in this area

[Hidden in reply to podsart]

New to this site. Is there an option to take this off the thread and contact you directly with email? Where are you located?

[podsart in reply to Hidden]

You always private message via this board me or

My email [e-mail]

I am located in Long Island ny

Except for a few months winter when I snowbird to Florida

[Bob10]

Thanks Mike..and tar Very appreciative

[curious-mind1]

Dr. Drake is seeing new patients. I just made an appointment for my dad to see him next Tuesday. Dad was a patient of Dr. Myers as well, and Myers recommended Dr. Ferrari at Rutgers after his retirement. Dr. Ferrari, who was also wonderful in every way, also retired from patient practice last year, so now we'll see Drake.

Arthur

[Mazdaguy]

I was also a Myers patient for 6 years or so. I was also referred to Drake. I did go to Ferrari, but had a feeling she was going to retire soon. I’ve started to see a local MO in Hershey just to have if I want treatments...especially if someday I go down the chemo road. Lastly, I’ve seen Dr. Denmeade at Hopkins, at first to try to get a PSMA scan, but he was behind the BAT research and I wanted to know more about that..

There are countless things I miss about Dr. Myers compared to all of the docs I’ve seen since he retired. My family doctor retired around the same time. Both were the most caring docs. But I think the world of doctors has changed in the past decade. It’s an assembly line...cookie cutter...standard of care. Myers gave me confidence, always got back to me personally through email, had prostate cancer himself, and logistically we had the journey to Charlottesville down to a science. I know he has health issues now, but it would have been nice if he stayed in the game through his videos, etc...

Dr. Drake is a good. I like his assistant, Dr. Dallas, a lot. He spends a lot of time with me when I’m there. Dr. Drake has a great personality and is very intelligent. He’s often behind schedule and it’s crazy there at times.

Logistically, it’s a challenge for us. Not to crazy about the drive and being so close to the city. Parking is right next door which helps...Tolls and parking are outrageous, but so were Myers’ fees.

Drake is only available on Tuesdays. In January he wasn’t available even on those days..I get the sense that he is more interested in his research than patients...but that’s probably not a fair assessment.

They have a great portal...just too bad they don’t use it for much....I give the office staff about a B-.

I so miss the woods of Virginia and the sounds of the creaky floors and Dr. Myers’ laptop cart being rolled in. He would talk forever and then when he was done...he walked out not saying a word. He was incredible.