Prostate Cancer - Get a Second Opinion

After the diagnosis of prostate cancer and assessment of extent of the disease, your physician will have presented and discussed a list of possible treatments, some in detail, perhaps some not in detail. It is at this point that a Second Opinion should be obtained.

A Second Opinion is crucial due to the large number of treatments that might be offered alone or combined, and to make certain that the recommended treatment is appropriate for each individual patient. After reviewing the diagnostic biopsies, staging studies, physical health of the patient and proposed treatments, the Second Opinion might confirm the first recommendation or suggest modifications or alternatives that might have been overlooked.

While most urologists are equipped to diagnose prostate cancer, a Second Opinion would be most appropriately given by a urologic oncologist, a urologist who specializes in prostate and other urologic cancers by devoting more than half of his practice to urologic cancer, publishing research papers in the area, often fellowship trained, and an elected member of the Society of Urologic Oncology. It should not be rendered by one of your physician’s partners. A search for urologic oncologists can be made at www.societyofurologiconcology.org by selecting a state or typing a zip code into the “Find a Physician” search tool located at the bottom of the home page. To see a list of peer-reviewed published medical papers by your doctor or any physician, go to www.pubmed.com and type his or her last name followed by first initial.

Prostate cancer is not fast-growing. The time taken to obtain a Second 
Opinion will allow for peace of mind in knowing that you have carefully chosen the best course of treatment for your mix of age, disease, and overall medical condition. 

As an indicator of the importance of a Second Opinion, virtually all third-party carriers cover the cost of a Second Opinion, including Medicare and most insurance plans. While you may have a co-payment, you should not have to pay for a Second Opinion "out of pocket". 

We are pleased to offer a Second Opinion consultation and can generally do so within 5 business days. Our staff will work with you to make certain all necessary information is available in order to assure you a detailed, complete, and timely assessment. This is offered as an independent service and does not imply that you would be required to receive your care from us, and patients may return to their local physician after a Second Opinion, content that they have made the correct choice.

For early stage prostate cancer, urologists tend to recommend surgery and radiation oncologists tend to recommend radiation in one of several forms.  Both surgery and radiation can be effective in most patients.  As a urologic oncologist who has done hundreds of radical surgeries and over 1400 brachytherapy implants, Dr. Sarosdy is qualified to render an independent Second Opinion, free of financial involvement or ownership of any radiotherapy facility.

For patients with more advanced disease, issues of timing of androgen blockade and use of chemotherapy require careful integration into the patient’s course and response to treatments. As one of the lead investigators and authors on a seminal paper on the timing of androgen blockade (New England Journal of Medicine 341:1781-8; 1999) as well as several others, Dr. Sarosdy is qualified to provide Second Opinions for patients with advanced disease. Recommended treatments might include FDA-approved chemotherapy, recently approved drugs for early Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC), or investigational trial research, with support from the radiation and medical oncologists at the START Center in San Antonio.

A Second Opinion does require a face-to-face doctor-patient encounter and cannot be done via e-mail or over the phone. We attempt to offer replies to queries at officemanager@DrSarosdy.com , to facilitate your Second Opinion visit and evaluation.