radiation therapy route for seminoma

[smdemom]

My husband and I met with the radiation onc. today and are pretty certain that this is the path he will choose. He had a pure seminoma with some tumor present in the cord, clear ct scans, negative hcg and good alpha feta protein #'s, but we will rest better knowing we took this route. The doctor said that it would only be 15 treatments at 25 gray. Does this sound right to anyone? Also, is it generally recommended to get a second opinion with the path report? This doctor said that he would rest assured that all was done correctly. Should we still see the specialist at Vanderbilt University even if we feel confident with this doctor and the route we have chosen?

[Scott]

Yes, the NCCN guidelines (page 7) recommend "RT: Infradiaphragmatic (20-30 Gy) to include para-aortic ± ipsilateral iliac nodes." The TCRC page on the pathology report lists a number of cases in which a second opinion is worthwhile; I'm not sure any of those cases fit your situation, though.

[Karen]

Should we still see the specialist at Vanderbilt University even if we feel confident with this doctor and the route we have chosen?

Even though we were confident in the doc, the pathologist, oncologist, urologist and radiation oncologist, we STILL took all tests, scans and films to Sloan for a second opinion. If there is even a tiny chance you will ever wonder if something was missed it is well worth the piece of mind to get a second opinion. Even a small % of non-seminoma changes the treatment and I wanted to be certain. Sloan told us exactly what everyone else did and that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Put my doubts to rest.

[djmac]

Sloan told us exactly what everyone else did and that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Put my doubts to rest.

I concur... Get the second opinion, especially from a center of excellence that sees new patients every single day.

Regards,

djm