What do I do next?

[old64horn]

My PSA was 0.12 prior to salvage radiation. It is now 0.19 seven months after completion of radiation. Do I qualify for PSMA Pet? I need to find a good Prostate Oncologist in my are (Austin TX) and go from there.

[Tall_Allen]

At 0.2 you qualify for a PSMA PET scan, but it is unlikely to find anything before your PSA reaches 0.5, unless your doubling time is rapid. If it isn't rapid (<6 months), it isn't clear that there is a benefit to doing anything yet.

[old64horn in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you Tall_Allen, I plan on finding a good prostate Medical Oncologist And see where that leads me. I may see if I can get someone at MD Anderson 3 hours drive from Austin

[Tall_Allen in reply to old64horn]

If you're driving to Houston, MDAnderson is excellent, but also great is Eleni Efstathiou at Houston Methodist.

[old64horn in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks TA I’ll try and see next week to get an appointment n

[SteveTheJ]

Dr. Carlos Rubin deCelis at TX Oncology midtown on 38th-1/2 street. Excellent guy. Highly recommend. If you're north you can also check out Dr. Downey (forget his first name) at TX Oncology in Georgetown.

[old64horn in reply to SteveTheJ]

Thank you for your response. I will check them both. I live in the northwest Austin so it is probably not much difference in terms of travel.

[SteveTheJ]

I have been seeing Dr. Rubin deCelis for more than a year. A friend recommended Dr. Downey. My friend had mesothelioma and Dr. Downey was instrumental in helping him through that. Georgetown is too far away and the day I visited Downey, I waited a really long time and he seemed distracted or something, not very personable. But make up your own mind.

[old64horn in reply to SteveTheJ]

I will check Dr. Defelis, also in doing some my own research I found Dr Jeff Yorio at Texas Oncology on 381/2 St in Austin. I'm also considering Dr Efstathiou at Houston Methodist hospital or find someone at MD Anderson. If you don't mind, What is Dr Defelis treating you for Thanks

[SteveTheJ]

From the top. I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in March 2020.

I am seeing Dr. Paul Corn at MD Anderson (you didn't mention being interested in them) and Dr. Carlos Rubin deCelis at TX Oncology midtown. The reason for two is that Dr. deCelis gives me Lupron injections every 3 months.

The main guy is Dr. Corn at MD Anderson. I really like him. He prescribes the Erleada that I take every day. I expect I'll be in Houston in Sept for scans.

MD Anderson is first class in every way. If you want more info, let me know.

[old64horn in reply to SteveTheJ]

Thanks John, i plan on going to MD Anderson and hope I can get to schedule an appointment with your doctor there. I appreciate your help. Do you live in Austin?

[SteveTheJ in reply to old64horn]

My name is Steve and yes, I'm in central Austin. Great! The thing that impressed me the most about Dr. Corn is that, at my first visit, he introduced himself briefly then he said, "Now tell me about you. What's your story?" ... and he listened!

Every time I see something on this list like some novel T-cell therapy, and I tell him about it, he either knows the study or he knows the people involved in the study.

When I go to MD Anderson I always stay at the Jesse H Jones Rotary House hotel. It's physically attached to the MD Anderson complex by skywalks so, no matter the weather, you never have to go outside. Now that everything has opened back up there are a variety of restaurants and things you can do at nearby Rice Village or elsewhere. Some nice museums. a zoo, a golf course, and such in the enormous Hermann Park which is literally across the street from the hotel. MD Anderson itself is enormous and really beautiful so if you want to take a long walk while you're there, plenty of nice things to see.

The only weird experience I've had is the time their network went down; that was not fun. They had to do everything on paper and as a result, I waited >3 hours for my CT scan! But that was only once. The waiting rooms are gorgeous and they have recliners and couches (which presumably will be opened back up now after Covid). The staff is friendly to a person and highly professional.

[old64horn in reply to SteveTheJ]

Thanks John, I live in NW Austin in the Balcones/Spicewood sub division. To give you a little background on my situation, I was diagnosed with PC in 2009 2 out of 12 nodes with Gleason 8. Had surgery in 02/2009 pathology report showed EPE but with negative margins. Seven year with PSA <.01. in 2016 My PSA was 0.01 followed by small increases every year until 2021 when it reached 0.12 at which time I had 8 weeks of IMRT. Unfortunately the the RT did nothing. PSA was 0.12 after 4 months and 0.19 after 7 months and that is where I'm now.

[old64horn in reply to old64horn]

Steve, sorry I called you John.

[j-o-h-n]

Look them up on your 650 or 1401......................Stay well at 80 and +.......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 03/26/2022 7:31 PM DST