List of Watch and Wait hospitals/doctors in the US

[Loop]

Hello,
Does anyone have a list or know of a list of hospitals/doctors who are open to Watch and Wait in the US? Or, if anyone has specific hospitals/doctor to recommend, I will start a list.

I want to get a second and third opinion of Stage II T3N0M0 but I only want to see doctors who are at least open to Watch and Wait.

Thank you,

Kevin - Chicago

[weisssoccermom]

Hi Kevin,
I can't tell you which doctors are open to watch/wait but I can tell you that my particular surgeon was open to a local excision combined with chemo and chemoradiation.
That is the treatment that I had. An excision is an outpatient procedure where the small amount of scar tissue is removed via the anus but no lymph nodes or few (if they happen to be in the specimen sample) are taken. I had the procedure done 11 years ago and it really wasn't difficult by any means. It's analogous to a lumpectomy for a breast cancer patient. Then I had meticulous followups every three months.

If you can't find a doctor/hospital that is willing to work with you, you may want to look into board certified colorectal surgeons (NOT board certified general surgeons) who are willing to do a local excision OR those who have experience with video assisted excisions called TEM (not to be confused with TME....the more radical surgery). TEM stands for transanal endoscopic microsurgery.

Best of luck. I know all too well the frustration rectal cancer patients can and do face....not saying all of them. I didn't want the 'standard of care' surgery and it was difficult to find a surgeon who would go along with MY plan.

[O Stoma Mia]

One thing you might do is to scan the list of recent (2017) publications in this area to see which ones were written by doctors in the US. This might give you a list to start with.

Here is one list of 2017 articles on local excision of distal rectal cancer that you could look through. You could make lists of whatever other special topics.you might be interested in, too.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2017&q=local+excision+of+distal+rectal+cancer&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5..
.
Edit -
Here is a 2016 article written by some Chicago area researchers:
Neo-adjuvant treatment of rectal cancer -- Where are we now?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4976683/#__ffn_sectitle
.
Here is a list of doctors and hospitals participating in the watch-and-wait clinical trial NCT02008656. One of these hospitals is in Chicago.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02008656?show_locs=Y#locn

[rp1954]

I can't imagine being totally watch and wait. I would at least consider one of the milder alternative immune building and chemical modulation regimes without chemo, and at least check the various markers with an aggressive baseline survey of blood panels.


Even though the odds are high that the major markers are not yet alarmingly elevated, a baseline survey would enable you to spot important anomalies now, spot important changes sooner on later blood tests, and begin to personalize friendlier treatment chemistry. Tests can help guide milder, perhaps life saving choices and quality of life, now and later.

[Beckster]

Hello,
Does anyone have a list or know of a list of hospitals/doctors who are open to Watch and Wait in the US? Or, if anyone has specific hospitals/doctor to recommend, I will start a list.

I want to get a second and third opinion of Stage II T3N0M0 but I only want to see doctors who are at least open to Watch and Wait.

Thank you,

Kevin - Chicago

Kevin..not sure if rectal cancer treatment is different from colon. As you can see from my signature, I am stage 2A too, but it was colon. According to your information, you are stage IIA. Watch and wait might depend on high risk factors...less than 12 lymph nodes, obstruction, perforation, LVI (lymphatic invasion), perineural invasion, T4. My doctor gave me the choice whether to do chemo or not.

You could also ask for the Oncotype test, which would determine if you are at low, moderate or high risk.

[susie0915]

I didn't even know watch and wait was an option. I was also stage 2A. After chemo/radiation my surgeon did a sigmoidoscopy and said all that was left was scar tissue. He said I may not have to do chemo after surgery. I was thrilled with that. As it turned out, the pathology report did show minimal residual cancer cells even though margins were clear and no lymph nodes were affected. My oncologist did recommend mop up chemo which was disappointing. But, I do know that if I would've been offered watch and wait I probably would have done it. Others would prefer to just have it taken out. I have been able to get my bowel issues under good control now, but rectal cancer patients can have issues with bowel movements. There are quite a few on this forum that are doing watch and wait. I think it is a game changer in the treatment of rectal cancer patients and expect more will be offering as results are determined to be successful. I know a list of approx 5 hospitals have been shared that offer watch and wait. I'm sure you will get some answers soon. Good Luck.

[mozart13]

Loop,
Memorial Sloan from NY has ongoing phase 2 trial about W&W, they probablly could provide you with more info.
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/clini ... als/13-213

Good luck!

[mozart13]

Loop,
Memorial Sloan from NY has ongoing phase 2 trial about W&W, they probablly could provide you with more info.
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/clini ... als/13-213


Good luck!

There is tread about this subject on this forum:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53498

[hawkowl]

My care team (in Minnesota) was definitely open to W/W...but at the last minute I chickened out. It turns out I had a CPR, so would have been a good candidate, but ultimately it wasn't a good fit for my personality.

They were definitely open to every "outside the box" suggestion I had, including cimetidine, Celebrex, Chaga, and robotic iliac lymph node dissection (I ended up going to the opposite extreme).

Good luck with your decision!