Carolyn,
Stonybrook has 3 urologists..one in prostate specialization ..one does not mention reconstruction and all have office locations which means that they do not get the volume of bladder cancer patients that the high end cancer centers do. You have Memorial Sloan Kettering right there with 7 people who specialize in bladder cancer and one of them the grand poobah of bladder cancer Dr. Harry Herr and a multidisciplinary team to carry him through every stage not to mention top pathologists in the country.
www.mskcc.org/prg/prg/bios/54.cfm
Also Dr. Bochner is highly regarded
www.mskcc.org/prg/prg/bios/616.cfm
Also Dr. David Chan just took over as chief at Long Island Jewish Hospital..he was one of 3 top docs at Hopkins in the bladder cancer department.
www.northshorelij.com/NSLIJ/David+Chan,+MD+New+Vice+Chairman+of+Urology
If your thinking of the DaVinci your doc better have at least l00 under his belt or he's still practicing.
Bladder cancer is soooo highly specialized i would reconsider if insurance allows to go to a high volume center and one that is at least ranked highly.
Pat
had to copy and paste this from the other category as i saw this secondarily. I know you're going to hate this reply but do look into this. Things are moving quickly and anyone who is extremely experienced with the DaVinci can do it in less than 5 hrs. A second opinion is always a good idea...you know that as a nurse.
pat