Interview with Dr. Steven Chang of Stanford About Choosing a Treatment

[fbarbera]

Hello All,

Last Thursday, I interviewed Dr. Steven Chang of Stanford University Medical Center for 90 minutes via recorded teleconference about selecting a treatment for Acoustic Neuromas.  Dr. Chang is a neurosurgeon with expertise in both the surgical resection and radiotherapy treatment of ANs.  My purpose in conducting the interview was to enable all new patients to receive the benefit of an in-depth consultation. As such, I tried to ask Dr. Chang all of the questions I wanted addressed when I was a new patient. The topics we discussed include:

*An in-depth discussion of factors to consider when choosing a treatment
*An in-depth discussion of AN-related symptoms, such as facial numbness, balance disturbances, tinnutus, and hearing loss, and how they impact the selection of treatment
*General principles for when Dr. Chang recommends surgery, radiotherapy or watch and wait
*General guidelines for choosing the right doctor and the right medical team
*What to ask your doctor when you are investigating treatments
*A discussion regarding whether radiotherapy creates a risk of cancer
*The impact of different treatment modes on overall quality of life
*The differences between Gamma Knife and Cyber Knife technology

You can listen to or download the full interview at my website, which is in my signature line.  (Go to the "Interviews With Doctors" tab.)  I hope the interview is useful.  

It's my intention to do another interview with Dr. Chang discussing post-treatment issues in the near future.  I will post again when that interview has been completed.

With blessings,
Francesco

[novagirl]

Francesco - just wanted to thank for doing the interview. I listened to it this morning - very comprehensive and informative! Can't thank you enough for doing this!

[free2be]

Francesco,

I listened to your interview with Dr. Chang (in its entirety). Very nice; well done. I had CK with Dr. Chang 9 weeks ago. While I was obviously past the decision process and had most of the information that you covered, it was still very informative. I wish it had been available before my struggle for information. If nothing else, it reiterated or put in different words what I had researched. I just wanted to complement you on your well prepared interview questions and getting this out there for others. It should be a very good source of information for patients just starting their treatment research -- a good place to start.

I felt Dr. Chang did a good job of not self-promoting himself or Stanford, but kept things in a reseach and comparison perspective.

I was particularly interested in the coverage of endoscopic surgery since that has come up lately. I found his responses to that informative and would appreciate that perspective if that were something I were considering.

Thanks for your efforts to get information out to others and trying to make this process easier for the rest of us, especially newcomers and those in the treatment decision process. Job well done!

Connie

[Jeanbean]

Frencesco,
     Thanks for the interview with Dr. Chang.  It was very informative and I learned some things I did not know.  I thought it was very interesting that he put balance in front of hearing in importance.  His reason made sense.  I also, read your journey with your AN.  That was also very helpful to me.  I have my own issues of being tired and not handling stress and balance problems.  But now I am more relaxed about them.  Thanks again.

Jean

[Tumbleweed]

Francesco, thank you so much for this labor of love. You did an outstanding job interviewing Dr. Chang, and the information that is revealed therein is an invaluable resource for all of us who have an AN, especially for those who have yet to choose or undergo treatment. This is one of the very best resources I have encountered. Excellent work!

Listening to the interview, my respect for Dr. Chang also grew. Such an articulate, educated, skilled, professional and humble man.

Best wishes,
TW

[wcrimi]

Excellent interview for all new patients to listen to as they prepare to make a decision on a treatment option. 

I got the impression that Dr. Chang might be very slightly biased towards radio surgery in marginal cases, but it was terrific in any event.

Thanks a lot.

Wayne