Looking for recommendations / opinions about salvage radiation at Stanford

[jronne]

Any opinions, experiences or insights would be greatly appreciated

[Hidden]

Have a look at the latest MRI guided Linac.

There are currently 3 such machines in the US (Houston, Milwaukee & Iowa) and one in Toronto Canada.

elekta.com/radiotherapy/tre...

[jronne in reply to Hidden]

thx it is a bitch being 60 and facing possible BCR without medicare

any notion what this would cost an out of state guy without insurance at these places?

my friends retail bill at Stanford was 1.5M USD for SRT

I hate to have to choose between my pocketbook and my life

[Hidden in reply to jronne]

If by 1.5M you mean 1.5 million (!) USD, then come over to Europe.

At this price you could buy your "private" mid-range Linac.

[jronne in reply to Hidden]

yes that is exactly how the free market and health insurance companies have destroyed the the healthcare system

life sucks until you reach age 65 and medicare, until then choices are limited and cost are huge

I want to get the best care I can probably restricted to California

[Hidden in reply to jronne]

Criticised post deleted by author.

[garyi]

What do you find objectionable with UCSF, where you've been treated, I believe?

[jronne in reply to garyi]

nothing, I live in Cupertino so it comes down to convenience, which is best and what my insurance covers

looking at both, if I do UCSF I need to purchase a 2nd heath insurance plan which is possible this month under the ACA in CA

it is a bitch being 60 and facing possible BCR without medicare

[garyi in reply to jronne]

Understand....with those complications, be sure you're not being overly aggressive looking at BCR. Good luck!

[jronne in reply to garyi]

not planning to do anything next year unless I get bad luck, need to buy the right health insurance just in case as the retail cost of SRT at Stanford is 1.5M USD, looks like two insurce plans one for Stanford and others, and one for UCSF

[ron_bucher]

Robert Sinha next to El Camino Hospital in Mountain View is as good as you'll get in a radiation oncologist. He gave me 7.5 years of remission after my post-prostatectomy recurrence. On my third occurrence, he radiated more lymph nodes and I'm in remission again. I was diagnosed at age 54. A Covered California PPO policy would probably cover most of the costs. My email is [e-mail] if you want more info.

[ron_bucher]

With all genuine and due respect "justfor", everyone deals with their own cancer in their own way. A support group is for support, not for chastising another patient's feelings, nor for judging how "real" someone's problems are. Your condescension may be more offensive to some than "jronne"'s comments are.

[Hidden in reply to ron_bucher]

Criticism accepted ron_bucher. My intention was to encourage jronne, not to offend anyone in anyway. Apologies if failed in doing so.

[jronne]

have you purchased healthcare insurance as an individual in the USA at age below age 65?

you may have found that the goal of the healthcare insurance company is to deny and delay treatment too save money and increase profits

you may have found that best doctors and best treatments are not covered

you may have found that you can only use medical resources in your home state

once you pass age 65 and have Medicare everything in the entire USA is a possibility