Second (& Third) Opinions Matter When Decidin...
Prostate Cancer
Second (& Third) Opinions Matter When Deciding Between Surgery or Radiation
Prostate cancer is one of those diseases where there’s a wide range of disagreement among urologists and oncologists regarding treatment. In fact, if you see three doctors, you might get three different opinions about what you should do. The good news is that prostate cancer is typically a slow-growing cancer (as opposed to pancreatic cancer, which would need immediate treatment), so you can visit multiple doctors before deciding on treatment.
Dr. Jim Hu, Director of Robotic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center, suggests getting several opinions from different types of doctors, such as oncologists and surgeons, because – as you may know – a surgeon typically wants to cut out the tumor while most radiation oncologists want to radiate it.
Dr. Hu also recommends seeking out multidisciplinary clinics that consist of integrated teams where a surgeon, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist – among others – review each case to reach a consensus on treatment.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Prostate cancer is one of those diseases where there’s a wide range of disagreement among urologists and oncologists regarding treatment. In fact, if you see three doctors, you might get three different opinions about what you should do. The good news is that prostate cancer is typically a slow-growing cancer (as opposed to pancreatic cancer, which would need immediate treatment), so you can visit multiple doctors before deciding on treatment.
Dr. Jim Hu, Director of Robotic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center, suggests getting several opinions from different types of doctors, such as oncologists and surgeons, because – as you may know – a surgeon typically wants to cut out the tumor while most radiation oncologists want to radiate it.
Dr. Hu also recommends seeking out multidisciplinary clinics that consist of integrated teams where a surgeon, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist – among others – review each case to reach a consensus on treatment.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Treatment: When to Start?
Active surveillance for prostate cancer is a very specific protocol with requirements and guidelines. While this is not ideal for everyone, it may work for certain patients and spare them the side effects of treatment.
Treatment: Watching and Waiting
Active surveillance for prostate cancer is a very specific protocol with requirements and guidelines. While this is not ideal for everyone, it may work for certain patients and spare them the side effects of treatment.
Before you decide on a surgeon or a surgical technique for prostate cancer, you should understand the options and some key questions to ask your surgeon.
Treatment: Considering Surgery
Before you decide on a surgeon or a surgical technique for prostate cancer, you should understand the options and some key questions to ask your surgeon.