Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has gone to Yale New Haven cancer center for prostate cancer treatment in general and also if you have used Dr. Daniel P. Petrylak. I am thinking of moving my treatment there because it is very close to home instead of schlepping down to Manhattan to Sloan all of the time. Thanks!
We saw Dr. Petrylak several years ago when we were looking for a new Oncologist after Dr. Myers retired. One month before the appointment we were asked to send all history of my husbands treatment so that the Doctor would be prepared at our first meeting. Spent 45 minutes with a resident starting with page 1 of 50 pages of history. When were u first diagnosed etc. Finally Dr. Petrylak came in and it was apparent he had not reviewed my husbands history as he prescribed Xtandi, a drug that my husband had been on for over a year. He was not aware of that. Maybe it was just a busy week for him but we were very disappointed.
We make the trek to New York Presbyterian every few months and are very happy with Dr. Drake.
Petrylak is certainly one of the top MOs in the US.
Thanks - that is good info. I was wondering though - since a lot of us do our own research and sort of have an idea of what strategy we want to use - it is probably more important to have a doctor that is willing to work with us rather then than tell us what to do. Have you laid out what treatments you wanted from your doctor? I find this site to be a great source of research and you seem to be most knowledgeable.
There is something between your doctor telling you what to do, and your telling your doctor what to do - it is called "shared decision making." Every doctor coming out of medical school in the last 40 years has been trained to do that. Some are better than others. I've found that most doctors want to do that, but it is sometimes the patient who forces the doctor into a paternalistic role.
When you have access to a top doctor, like Petrylak, you should consider him to be a very valuable resource. You or I may have read every trial there is, but the experience of treating a wide variety of patientsand being a lead investigator on many trials is not something you can learn by reading. Coincidentally, I just came back from a meeting with one such top doctor whose name apppears on many of the studies you may have read. I asked him about one such study, and he offered insights into certain subgroups and other data that he looked at that did not make it into the final report. He also told me about how it led to new trials that he will be starting.
So, to answer your question, when I go on patient visits, I never dictate what I think should be done. I ask questions, and I listen carefully to the answers I get. I've found that most MOs prefer, when possible, to lay out options - their potential benefits and risks. Of course, my experience with MOs has only been with top MOs. I might have less humility with MOs in community practice.
Thanks for the extra time to answer. I realize it may not be considered good manners to mention a doctor by name here. I hadn't thought about that.
I have no problem with naming doctors.
Ok. Well in that case...
What are your thoughts on either Dr. Michael Morris at Sloan and Dr. Petrylak at Yale? I have been seeing Dr. Morris for 12 years but going to Manhattan is going to get harder and harder as I progress. I have managed to not need treatment since my radiation 11 years ago but I am to that point now. Having somebody right next door is very appealing.
They are both excellent. What I have found with top oncologists is that they know one another, are aware of each other's work. often work together, and reach out to one another on difficult cases. There is no "one best." You might find you are more sympatico with one than another, but that is about a personality fit, not competence.
Sounds right. Have you heard anything about the quality of the scans (MRI, CAT, PET. etc.)? Sloan insists their scans are better and clearer. I had an MRI done at Yale when I had back pain and sent it to Sloan and they said the quality was poor but they read it as best they could. In that case I have a feeling there is a bit of marketing going on.
I think MSKCC has a Siemans PET/MRI, which is state of the art. But a machine with the newest bells and whistles falls short if the radiologist who reads it is inexperienced. IMHO the best radiologist is Daniel Morgolis at Weill Cornell.
My Granddaughter is a doctor in the oncology department there---get her take on the lay of the land. Her name is Kelsey.
Hi,
Which facility? Maybe I have met her already...
She is at the main facility in New Haven. She knows of Dr. Petrylak and says he has a very good reputation---has been at YNH for some time. I have the same problem as you--traveling from Pompano Beach to Jacksonville (Mayo)---to far, looking for support down here. Tall_Allen mentioned Holy Cross in Ft. Lauderdale . but I'm having a hard time reaching them---they do not answer any of the phone numbers I try. Peace.
I go to Yale NH Smilow in Waterbury but Sloan does have a facility in Westchester County NY. I have been to that facility early on & it is state of the art but decided to stay at YNH. A friend did go to YNH in New Haven & to that very doctor but unfortunately, my friend passed on from a heart attack. I know he liked the doctor though because he had told me that much.
I haven't dealt with Dr. Petrylak, but I had a radical prostatectomy at Yale New Haven/ Smilow in 2017 (Dr. Preston Sprenkle), 39 sessions of radiation there (Dr. James Yu), Lupron for 23/36 months (PSA undetectable for 12 months now) and recently met with Dr. Michael Hurwitz, a MO, to discuss what to do down the road. From what I can tell, all my treatments have been standard of care and at a good levels by well-regarded doctors. Apart from the usual Lupron side effects, which have not been as bad in my case as I have read about, I have moderate incontinence (consequence of tricky prostatectomy--tumor close to sphincter) and will have an artificial urinary sphincter procedure this summer, but at MSK in NYC because there are specialists there (not case at Smilow). I'm putting the AUS off because I'm having a hip replacement (severe osteoarthritis) on Monday--one thing on top of another!
Thanks - more good info!
Dr. M. Morris of MSK has been my doctor for years and I would highly recommend you continue to see him. But your schlepp is your schlepp not mine....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Friday 03/06/2020 11:14 PM EST
I like him too.... We all worry tomorrow.........
google.com/search?rlz=1C1SQ...
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Saturday 03/07/2020 1:02 PM EST
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