› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Need recommendation for oncologist in Chicago
- This topic has 48 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 4 months ago by
tuneseo.
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- October 21, 2012 at 2:20 am
Hello! My mother just got diagnosed last week with melanoma. She has recently moved to the Chicago area. We don't know what stage it is yet. The next step is the surgery to remove the larger area. She also has a couple of places on her back — one of these she was told to get checked out a year ago but she never did.
We have an appt with Dr. Choi at the University of Chicago and another appt this week with Dr. Bines and Dr. Kaufman at Rush. We have an appt with MD Anderson on Nov 2.
Hello! My mother just got diagnosed last week with melanoma. She has recently moved to the Chicago area. We don't know what stage it is yet. The next step is the surgery to remove the larger area. She also has a couple of places on her back — one of these she was told to get checked out a year ago but she never did.
We have an appt with Dr. Choi at the University of Chicago and another appt this week with Dr. Bines and Dr. Kaufman at Rush. We have an appt with MD Anderson on Nov 2.
Does anyone have any insight into any of these doctors or any other recommendations? We will go wherever we have to go.
Thanks,
Michelle
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- October 21, 2012 at 3:27 am
I really think it would make much more sense to know the staging before you run all over getting extra opinions. If this is an earlier stage melanoma, then none of that is needed. The surgery for extra margins would be the entire treatment. If it has advanced, you would still need to have the wide excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy done, the sentinel node would need to be positive, and then scans done to see if there were evidence of spread elsewhere. All of that would need to be in place prior to any treatment decision. Unless you know for sure your Mom's melanoma is advanced, it seems like you might be jumping the gun on the second opinions. Basically, you need to know her current status before opinions (one or many) can be given on treatment. There is a pretty consistent standard of care for staging – and after you get the staging complete, THAT is when opinions on treatment can be helpful or plainly not needed.
Do you have a copy of her pathology report? That could at least give you an initial staging and some indication of risk for spread. I'd ask for a copy for your Mom's own records.
Best wishes,
Janner
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- October 21, 2012 at 5:03 am
Thanks, Janner. They have not given us a stage. We thought that would be told to us after the surgery and biopsy. I hope you are right that we are jumping the gun. I will be happy to kill a fly with a sledgehammar if that's how it turns out.
My Mom moved and that is part of why we are looking for someone new. We have no experience with this. I am also very concerned with a couple of places on her back. One of these itched her for a year and she was told by her Nurse Practitioner to get it looked at but she never did.
We do have a copy of her pathology report and we sent it to the new doctors we have appointments with so we should know more after talking to them.
I want to be sure that the doctor who does her surgery is good. I think other patients are often the best sources of information on these things.
Thanks for your help.
Michelle
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- October 21, 2012 at 5:03 am
Thanks, Janner. They have not given us a stage. We thought that would be told to us after the surgery and biopsy. I hope you are right that we are jumping the gun. I will be happy to kill a fly with a sledgehammar if that's how it turns out.
My Mom moved and that is part of why we are looking for someone new. We have no experience with this. I am also very concerned with a couple of places on her back. One of these itched her for a year and she was told by her Nurse Practitioner to get it looked at but she never did.
We do have a copy of her pathology report and we sent it to the new doctors we have appointments with so we should know more after talking to them.
I want to be sure that the doctor who does her surgery is good. I think other patients are often the best sources of information on these things.
Thanks for your help.
Michelle
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- October 21, 2012 at 5:03 am
Thanks, Janner. They have not given us a stage. We thought that would be told to us after the surgery and biopsy. I hope you are right that we are jumping the gun. I will be happy to kill a fly with a sledgehammar if that's how it turns out.
My Mom moved and that is part of why we are looking for someone new. We have no experience with this. I am also very concerned with a couple of places on her back. One of these itched her for a year and she was told by her Nurse Practitioner to get it looked at but she never did.
We do have a copy of her pathology report and we sent it to the new doctors we have appointments with so we should know more after talking to them.
I want to be sure that the doctor who does her surgery is good. I think other patients are often the best sources of information on these things.
Thanks for your help.
Michelle
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- October 21, 2012 at 3:27 am
I really think it would make much more sense to know the staging before you run all over getting extra opinions. If this is an earlier stage melanoma, then none of that is needed. The surgery for extra margins would be the entire treatment. If it has advanced, you would still need to have the wide excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy done, the sentinel node would need to be positive, and then scans done to see if there were evidence of spread elsewhere. All of that would need to be in place prior to any treatment decision. Unless you know for sure your Mom's melanoma is advanced, it seems like you might be jumping the gun on the second opinions. Basically, you need to know her current status before opinions (one or many) can be given on treatment. There is a pretty consistent standard of care for staging – and after you get the staging complete, THAT is when opinions on treatment can be helpful or plainly not needed.
Do you have a copy of her pathology report? That could at least give you an initial staging and some indication of risk for spread. I'd ask for a copy for your Mom's own records.
Best wishes,
Janner
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- October 21, 2012 at 3:27 am
I really think it would make much more sense to know the staging before you run all over getting extra opinions. If this is an earlier stage melanoma, then none of that is needed. The surgery for extra margins would be the entire treatment. If it has advanced, you would still need to have the wide excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy done, the sentinel node would need to be positive, and then scans done to see if there were evidence of spread elsewhere. All of that would need to be in place prior to any treatment decision. Unless you know for sure your Mom's melanoma is advanced, it seems like you might be jumping the gun on the second opinions. Basically, you need to know her current status before opinions (one or many) can be given on treatment. There is a pretty consistent standard of care for staging – and after you get the staging complete, THAT is when opinions on treatment can be helpful or plainly not needed.
Do you have a copy of her pathology report? That could at least give you an initial staging and some indication of risk for spread. I'd ask for a copy for your Mom's own records.
Best wishes,
Janner
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- October 21, 2012 at 9:42 am
What I know of:
Dr Kaufman at Rush
Dr Kuzel at Northwestern
Dr Brockstein at NorthShore
Dr Gajewski at U of Chicago
Dr Richards at Lutheran General
Dr Clark at Loyola
Those are oncologists, as far as the surgery:
Dr Winchester Jr, NorthShore
Dr Yao, NorthShore
Dr Sharpless, Lake Forest
Dr Wayne, Northwestern
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:11 am
There's also more info at http://www.chicagomelanomaconsortium.org/
In terms of "killing a fly with a sledgehammer" I hear what you're saying but if it's an early stage there isn't much more they'd do after surgery
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:11 am
There's also more info at http://www.chicagomelanomaconsortium.org/
In terms of "killing a fly with a sledgehammer" I hear what you're saying but if it's an early stage there isn't much more they'd do after surgery
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:11 am
There's also more info at http://www.chicagomelanomaconsortium.org/
In terms of "killing a fly with a sledgehammer" I hear what you're saying but if it's an early stage there isn't much more they'd do after surgery
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- October 21, 2012 at 9:42 am
What I know of:
Dr Kaufman at Rush
Dr Kuzel at Northwestern
Dr Brockstein at NorthShore
Dr Gajewski at U of Chicago
Dr Richards at Lutheran General
Dr Clark at Loyola
Those are oncologists, as far as the surgery:
Dr Winchester Jr, NorthShore
Dr Yao, NorthShore
Dr Sharpless, Lake Forest
Dr Wayne, Northwestern
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- October 21, 2012 at 9:42 am
What I know of:
Dr Kaufman at Rush
Dr Kuzel at Northwestern
Dr Brockstein at NorthShore
Dr Gajewski at U of Chicago
Dr Richards at Lutheran General
Dr Clark at Loyola
Those are oncologists, as far as the surgery:
Dr Winchester Jr, NorthShore
Dr Yao, NorthShore
Dr Sharpless, Lake Forest
Dr Wayne, Northwestern
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:55 am
I am sorry to hear of your mother's diagnosis.
As others have said, a lot depends on the staging. If her melanoma is Stage I the standard of care is observation. In this case you only need a dermatologist who is good in melanoma.
If the melanoma is Stage II you may want to have a Sentinel Node Biopsy done. This procedure uses a radioactive dye to find the lymph node into which the region of the lesion drains. That node is removed and investigated for signs that tumor cells have migrated into the lymph system. If not, the standard of care is observation. If so, your mother would be considered Stage III. Depending on the level of migration, the doctor may recommend removing all lymph nodes in the region. This work is done by a surgical oncologist.
Once the melanoma is Stage III, it is time also to see a medical oncologist about any systemic treatment. Some people choose to do no systemic treatment at this stage, and depending on how severe the Stage III disease is, the doctor may, again, recommend observation.
If your mother is at this point, she will also have scans to see if they find any evidence that the tumor has spread to other parts of the body. If so, the medical oncologist will likely recommend systemic treatment. Traditional chemotherapy has had limited success in melanoma, so the more current treatment approaches fall into two categories: immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
In the former, the doctor prescribes treatments designed to engage the immune system in fighting the cancer. Some of these, like IL2 (interleukin 2) "rev up" the immune system. Others, like Yervoy, essentially "remove the brakes"–take away the checkpoints the body naturally uses to prevent autoimmune disease.
Targeted therapy, in contrast, addresses a specific genetic mutation in the tumor cells that is allowing them to grow out of control. To take these drugs, the tumor must have a specific mutation that a drug can target.
Having said all of that, here is what I know:
I don't know Dr. Choi. He is a surgical oncologist who does melanoma surgery, but his primary interests, according to his profile, are in other types of cancer.
I have me Dr. Bines once, I believe. He is also a surgical oncologist and he does have significant research interests in melanoma.
Dr. Kaufman I know well. he is also a surgical oncologist, but in many ways acts more like a medical oncologist. He is very strong in the immunotherapy approach, and is one of strongest proponents of a particular therapy called IL-2. You will find Howard very collaborative and thoughtful, I believe.
If you know the doctor at MD Anderson I may know that person as well. They have a strong melanoma program, as you probably know.
This is a lot of information, and I hope is not too confusing. Please keep us posted and let me know if I can help.
Tim–MRF
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:55 am
I am sorry to hear of your mother's diagnosis.
As others have said, a lot depends on the staging. If her melanoma is Stage I the standard of care is observation. In this case you only need a dermatologist who is good in melanoma.
If the melanoma is Stage II you may want to have a Sentinel Node Biopsy done. This procedure uses a radioactive dye to find the lymph node into which the region of the lesion drains. That node is removed and investigated for signs that tumor cells have migrated into the lymph system. If not, the standard of care is observation. If so, your mother would be considered Stage III. Depending on the level of migration, the doctor may recommend removing all lymph nodes in the region. This work is done by a surgical oncologist.
Once the melanoma is Stage III, it is time also to see a medical oncologist about any systemic treatment. Some people choose to do no systemic treatment at this stage, and depending on how severe the Stage III disease is, the doctor may, again, recommend observation.
If your mother is at this point, she will also have scans to see if they find any evidence that the tumor has spread to other parts of the body. If so, the medical oncologist will likely recommend systemic treatment. Traditional chemotherapy has had limited success in melanoma, so the more current treatment approaches fall into two categories: immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
In the former, the doctor prescribes treatments designed to engage the immune system in fighting the cancer. Some of these, like IL2 (interleukin 2) "rev up" the immune system. Others, like Yervoy, essentially "remove the brakes"–take away the checkpoints the body naturally uses to prevent autoimmune disease.
Targeted therapy, in contrast, addresses a specific genetic mutation in the tumor cells that is allowing them to grow out of control. To take these drugs, the tumor must have a specific mutation that a drug can target.
Having said all of that, here is what I know:
I don't know Dr. Choi. He is a surgical oncologist who does melanoma surgery, but his primary interests, according to his profile, are in other types of cancer.
I have me Dr. Bines once, I believe. He is also a surgical oncologist and he does have significant research interests in melanoma.
Dr. Kaufman I know well. he is also a surgical oncologist, but in many ways acts more like a medical oncologist. He is very strong in the immunotherapy approach, and is one of strongest proponents of a particular therapy called IL-2. You will find Howard very collaborative and thoughtful, I believe.
If you know the doctor at MD Anderson I may know that person as well. They have a strong melanoma program, as you probably know.
This is a lot of information, and I hope is not too confusing. Please keep us posted and let me know if I can help.
Tim–MRF
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- October 21, 2012 at 10:55 am
I am sorry to hear of your mother's diagnosis.
As others have said, a lot depends on the staging. If her melanoma is Stage I the standard of care is observation. In this case you only need a dermatologist who is good in melanoma.
If the melanoma is Stage II you may want to have a Sentinel Node Biopsy done. This procedure uses a radioactive dye to find the lymph node into which the region of the lesion drains. That node is removed and investigated for signs that tumor cells have migrated into the lymph system. If not, the standard of care is observation. If so, your mother would be considered Stage III. Depending on the level of migration, the doctor may recommend removing all lymph nodes in the region. This work is done by a surgical oncologist.
Once the melanoma is Stage III, it is time also to see a medical oncologist about any systemic treatment. Some people choose to do no systemic treatment at this stage, and depending on how severe the Stage III disease is, the doctor may, again, recommend observation.
If your mother is at this point, she will also have scans to see if they find any evidence that the tumor has spread to other parts of the body. If so, the medical oncologist will likely recommend systemic treatment. Traditional chemotherapy has had limited success in melanoma, so the more current treatment approaches fall into two categories: immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
In the former, the doctor prescribes treatments designed to engage the immune system in fighting the cancer. Some of these, like IL2 (interleukin 2) "rev up" the immune system. Others, like Yervoy, essentially "remove the brakes"–take away the checkpoints the body naturally uses to prevent autoimmune disease.
Targeted therapy, in contrast, addresses a specific genetic mutation in the tumor cells that is allowing them to grow out of control. To take these drugs, the tumor must have a specific mutation that a drug can target.
Having said all of that, here is what I know:
I don't know Dr. Choi. He is a surgical oncologist who does melanoma surgery, but his primary interests, according to his profile, are in other types of cancer.
I have me Dr. Bines once, I believe. He is also a surgical oncologist and he does have significant research interests in melanoma.
Dr. Kaufman I know well. he is also a surgical oncologist, but in many ways acts more like a medical oncologist. He is very strong in the immunotherapy approach, and is one of strongest proponents of a particular therapy called IL-2. You will find Howard very collaborative and thoughtful, I believe.
If you know the doctor at MD Anderson I may know that person as well. They have a strong melanoma program, as you probably know.
This is a lot of information, and I hope is not too confusing. Please keep us posted and let me know if I can help.
Tim–MRF
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- October 21, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Personally would go with Kaufman or Gajewski and avoid Richards. Those are the ones we had experience with.
Lori (caregiver to Will)
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- October 21, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Michelle,
You may also want to try the Carbone cancer center in Madison WI. The melanoma specialist there. Mark Albertini, is very knowledgable and easy to deal with. The cancer center is part of the University of Wisconsin and is about 90 miles from the western burbs of Chicago.
Thanks,
MikeWI.
stage 2c, currently after recent scans NED
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- October 21, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Michelle,
You may also want to try the Carbone cancer center in Madison WI. The melanoma specialist there. Mark Albertini, is very knowledgable and easy to deal with. The cancer center is part of the University of Wisconsin and is about 90 miles from the western burbs of Chicago.
Thanks,
MikeWI.
stage 2c, currently after recent scans NED
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- October 21, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Michelle,
You may also want to try the Carbone cancer center in Madison WI. The melanoma specialist there. Mark Albertini, is very knowledgable and easy to deal with. The cancer center is part of the University of Wisconsin and is about 90 miles from the western burbs of Chicago.
Thanks,
MikeWI.
stage 2c, currently after recent scans NED
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- October 26, 2012 at 3:50 am
Dr Kaufman!!! he is my fathers oncologist and is amazing. He lives and breathes melanoma. He is absolutely amazing and so is his staff. He has been treating my father for 1.5 years and he is in remission now-
- November 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm
She did great work and take care about yourself and your every problems.
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- November 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm
She did great work and take care about yourself and your every problems.
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- November 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm
She did great work and take care about yourself and your every problems.
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- November 28, 2012 at 6:58 am
Found something new information and will should checked what is reason behind this all problems then justify.
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- November 28, 2012 at 6:58 am
Found something new information and will should checked what is reason behind this all problems then justify.
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- November 28, 2012 at 6:58 am
Found something new information and will should checked what is reason behind this all problems then justify.
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- November 29, 2012 at 9:45 am
You should check all report given by doctor and take decision for stage came for your mother,there will be no late by the way.
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- November 29, 2012 at 9:45 am
You should check all report given by doctor and take decision for stage came for your mother,there will be no late by the way.
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- November 29, 2012 at 9:45 am
You should check all report given by doctor and take decision for stage came for your mother,there will be no late by the way.
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- December 18, 2012 at 6:20 am
Do not worry and all thing will done well and stay in pisitive mind with your mother and gives better support.
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- December 18, 2012 at 6:20 am
Do not worry and all thing will done well and stay in pisitive mind with your mother and gives better support.
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- December 18, 2012 at 6:20 am
Do not worry and all thing will done well and stay in pisitive mind with your mother and gives better support.
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