Clinical study

[Manuela33]

Has anyone on this site heard of Dr Gary Onik? AKA Dr Hope?

[Tall_Allen]

Yes- Considering focal ablation?

[Manuela33 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Not sure about that . Watch his video “aka Dr Hope” - that is the procedure we are hoping he can do on my husband .

[Tall_Allen in reply to Manuela33]

I don't watch videos. And the fact that you don't understand the therapy he offers tells me that you have a lot more research to do before deciding. Here's an article to start you off:

pcnrv.blogspot.com/2016/12/...

[Manuela33 in reply to Tall_Allen]

I understand exactly what the procedure is but it is a rather long explanation which I why I suggested you watch the video.

[AlanMeyer]

I don't know about "Dr. Hope", but Dr. Onik is well known as one of the pioneers of cryosurgery, i.e., treating cancer by freezing the tumors. If cryosurgery is the right technique for treating a patient's cancer, I would expect that Dr. Onik is the right guy to do the treatment.

Be aware that cryosurgery is still somewhat controversial. There aren't a lot of practitioners of it. Also be aware that it, like prostatectomy, prostate radiation, and HIFU, is a treatment for localized cancer (cancer confined to the prostate itself), not for systemic/metastatic cancer.

Personally, I believe that all of the treatments for localized cancer, if performed by a very good practitioner, will have similar outcomes. If you cut out, radiate, burn, or freeze all of the cancer, you'll get a cure. It doesn't matter much whether the cancer is killed by cutting it, radiating it, burning it, or freezing it. If it's dead, it's dead. On the other hand, if the cancer is not all cut, radiated, burned or frozen because the doctor missed some, or because the cancer has already spread to other places in the body where it can't be found and killed, there won't be a cure. Treatments that can reach everywhere in the body, even though they probably won't kill all of the cancer, will be the only options.

I wish you all the best of luck.

Alan

[Manuela33 in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you for your response. My husband has metastasized prostate cancer. It has spread to his bones . We recently saw a video that Dr Okin just made after discovering that he himself had been diagnosed w the same cancer as my husband . He combined a few different treatments and had a friend and colleague do the surgery on him and so far he is cancer free . He has agreed to see us and hopefully perform the same surgery on my husband .

[AlanMeyer in reply to Manuela33]

Please bear in mind that, if your husband has metastatic cancer in his bones now, he will still have metastatic cancer in his bones after prostate surgery, no matter whether it's done with a scalpel or a freezing wire. Unless Dr. Onik knows exactly where the metastases are, and knows that there are only a few spots, and that they are only where he believes them to be and nowhere else, and unless he treats all of those metastases (which he would probably do with radiation, not surgery of any kind) in addition to treating the prostate, there is little or no chance for a cure.

I or others in the group may have more ideas if you can post more information about your husband's disease. What is his PSA? What is his Gleason score? Are there many known metastases, i.e., many spots in the bones that appear to be cancer on the MRI, CT, or whatever other scans he has had. Has he had any treatment yet? If so, what was it and what was the PSA before and after treatment?

There are hot debates going on these days about whether treating the prostate itself does any good when the cancer is already metastatic. As I understand it (and I am not a doctor or expert of any kind and could be wrong), there is some evidence that, in some cases, treating the prostate will slow the progress of the disease. Again as I understand it, there is also some evidence that if the metastases are widespread, treating the prostate does not slow the progress of the disease and only results in more cost, inconvenience, and the side effects of the treatment for the patient.

I am not arguing against your husband seeing Dr. Onik. He is an expert in prostate cancer and I am not. However I do think it is valuable to get at least one second opinion from a different prostate cancer specialist. I would especially recommend seeing a medical oncologist specializing in prostate cancer and possibly also a radiation oncologist specializing in prostate cancer.

You may be able to find someone good by posting a message on this forum. If you have geographical considerations, say what they are so that people who know fine doctors in that area can respond. There are advantages to finding a doctor close to home because it's easier to go to him or her for follow-up care.

Here is a list of hospitals and clinics that the National Cancer Institute recommends as centers of excellence for cancer care:

cancer.gov/research/nci-rol...

I know how terrible all of this is and how much stress there is in trying to find the best treatment. I know how easy it is for people like me to give advice and how hard it is for people to figure out whose advice is best, what to listen to, and what to ignore. However you've done the right things by finding a well known doctor and by checking with others about your choice. Whatever choice you make and whatever the outcome, you should understand that you've done the best you could do.

I wish the best of luck to your husband and to you.

Alan

[Manuela33 in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you Alan . My husband was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago w 7 tumors on his bones with a psa level of 23, Gleason score of 9. He did 8 rounds of taxotere along with some homeopathic things and was cancer free. It returned 6 months ago with three of the old lesions back . His oncologist calls them hot spots . He’s done jevdama - didn’t work and then 2 months of a low dose of taxotere which didn’t seem to be working - his psa started at .09 and is now 27. We changed oncologists and his new one put him on full strength taxotere every three weeks . He’s had two and it’s really debilitating. Watch “ aka Dr Hope) video . It says that he has come up w a procedure that takes out the cancer cells, creates a vaccine and puts it back in your body so that your own immune system knows to fight it . This is done along w other procedures. We are hopeful and praying this helps. We know there is no cure but would like some time and “normalcy” in between treatments

As we just celebrated our 1 year anniversary.

[Brundo in reply to Manuela33]

Hi Manuela, I looked through the information about Dr. Onik and it looks promising. Thank you for posting. Do you know what the cost would be?

[Manuela33 in reply to Brundo]

I’m not sure . We have an appointment with him April 23rd and will know a lot more then! I’ll keep you posted .😊

[HOPEFULSPOUSE in reply to Manuela33]

Thank you! Look forward to an update!

[Brundo in reply to Manuela33]

Please do. I hope everything goes great !

[rassusukumaran in reply to Manuela33]

I am waiting to hear from you details about cost etc, after your your appointment which you stated was on 23rd. All the best.

[Manuela33 in reply to rassusukumaran]

Thank you , yes, we go tomorrow.🙏🏼 I will definitely keep you posted .

[AlanMeyer in reply to Manuela33]

I watched the "Dr. Hope" video.

At first I was put off by it. I don't believe in the religious stuff and thought Onik's statement that "I realize now that God was working through me to give Marcia a great gift" showed what seemed to me to be hubris and irrationality. I thought it was some kind of narcissistic self-promotion or, worse, an attempt to prey upon desperate people hoping for a gift from God. But my feelings about him changed over the course of the video. He at least appeared to be sincere in his religious belief and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Is he a good doctor? His credentials are excellent and it appears to me that he knows a lot about prostate cancer and cancer in general. I was especially impressed by his refusal to claim that what he has done should be accepted as a new insight into cancer treatment unless and until it has been duplicated by others and verified in a clinical trial. Until then, as he openly admits, all he's got is anecdotal evidence.

I don't think you've got anything to lose by seeing the man. He does know a lot. As I understand it, there is some independent evidence that destroying primary tumors can regress metastatic disease in some patients in some still not well characterized circumstances. Maybe something will come of it for your husband.

Best of luck.

Alan

[j-o-h-n in reply to AlanMeyer]

A+ grade....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 04/11/2019 5:29 PM DST

[HOPEFULSPOUSE]

Can you post a link to the video?

[Manuela33 in reply to HOPEFULSPOUSE]

He’s on YouTube - search “aka Dr Hope 😊

[HOPEFULSPOUSE in reply to Manuela33]

Thank you there are several hour long videos. The first one we found starts with a discussion about prayer. While we are firm believers in positive thinking, prayers, meditations, etc., we are looking for something more science-based.

[Manuela33 in reply to HOPEFULSPOUSE]

Watch the full video. It’s not just about prayer . It shows the procedures he has done .

[WXYZ123 in reply to HOPEFULSPOUSE]

Hi there! I have been wondering how you and your husband are? We come in every other week for Johns treatments at Weill Cornell with Dr Tagawa. Would love to connect for a cuppa or a walk...

Cat

[kmack57]

I had salvage cryo and IRE performed by Dr Onik and it did not work. I do believe he is now adding immunity agents as well now.

[Manuela33 in reply to kmack57]

When did you have the procedure w him? If you don’t mind me asking, was it extremely costly ?

[rassusukumaran in reply to kmack57]

If you have his contact particulars like phone or E mail. Hope you can share. I am from Asia.

[Manuela33 in reply to rassusukumaran]

His phone number is 321-297-4489. Hope this helps!

[rassusukumaran]

Does Dr. Oniks clinic have a web site? Appreciate if you can post it.

[Manuela33 in reply to rassusukumaran]

He doesn’t have a website but you can google his name to find some articles on him. 😊

[rassusukumaran]

I am still waiting to hear from you on your meet with Dr. Onik. You promised to post the outcome of your meet. I am very anxiously waiting, as he may be my last hope.

[Manuela33 in reply to rassusukumaran]

Hi , I’m so sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner . We had a flood in our home the day after we saw Dr Onik and it’s been chaotic here . But yes, we did see him. And my husband is a perfect candidate for the clinical study, He was wonderful and intelligent and compassionate. He gave us some hope . His next clinical study is not for 6 more months so he put my husband on a regimen of vitamins and a diet to keep

Him healthy until then . I would suggest to you to call the number I gave you and and keep calling u til you reach him . He’s real, and he knows what he’s doing ! Please keep me posted !! We are praying for you 🙏🏼

[Hoping12345]

Hi Manuela33 has your husband had the procedure ? My dad was recently diagnosed with a different type of Cancer with metastases to the bones and I saw the video on Dr. Onik so have been trying to find anyone who has had the procedure which included in immunotherapy agents.

Thank you for your help in advance I really appritiate it!

[rassusukumaran]

Has your husband completed the procedures with Dr. Onik?