The Story I am going to relate in this Stage the story of how the caring and compassionate actions of a few and faith in God can have life-saving consequences. The story is a bit lengthy, but I hope worth reading. This story demonstrates that arriving at a treatment decision and selection of a doctor requires extensive "homework," a willingness to communicate with any and all family and friends who may be able to help, gracious acceptance of all the thoughts and prayers coming my way, and ultimately staying open to God's miracles. I had one week before my consultation appointment with my urologist, Dr. Sarram. Since I already had done a considerable amount of homework, I had a pretty good idea of treatment options. What I did not know is how the biopsy results best fit any of the available treatment options. The first thing I did is call my brother Ed in California. (See his cancer history in Stage 0: Context for "Prostate Cancer: The Journey.") Ed gave me Dr. Lieskovsky's phone number at USC and I immediately called to find out whether Dr. Lieskovsky was still in practice. Dr. Lieskovsky's nurse confirmed that he was still performing radical prostatectomies as he was back in 2001. In view of Ed's very successful experience, I had a fall back position should no better options materialize. Significant advances had been made in both radical surgery techniques and in radiotherapy since 2001. I was curious about the surgical advances made over the last few years using robotics. On Monday, September 21, I was looking at Facebook and noticed that a friend, Jody Schoger, in Texas was soliciting donations for a LiveStrong Foundation bike ride. I emailed her with a copy to her husband Steve to let her know about my diagnosis. Both Steve and Jody are cancer survivors and I figured that they may have some insights into cancer treatment options based on their own experiences at M.D. Anderson in Houston and the many connections in the cancer battling community. On Tuesday morning, September 22, Jody wrote that her brother underwent robotic prostatectomy in Des Moines and that she had sent out via Twitter a call for information among all her cancer warrior contacts. On Tuesday afternoon, Jody confirmed that she had sent out a general query to her cancer fighting community. No more than 20 minutes later, Jody wrote: "I found what you needed immediately on Twitter from my incredible network. You will find the surgeon to read about at http://www.roboticoncology.com/
Best of all, if you call any survivors please talk to Lynn Lane at cell/txt: 917.744.1818. He messaged me and asked that you call him. He is 43, and a wonderful man both Steve and I met. I rode Tour de Pink w/him. He has an awesome surgeon and will tell you everything you want to know, plus. I thoroughly encourage you to talk with him. Jody" I called Lynn Lane on Wednesday morning, September 23, the same day I was scheduled to meet with my urologist, Dr. Sarram. My conversation with Lynn was pivotal in leading to a decision to go for a robotic prostatectomy. Lynn was passionate about Dr. Samadi in New York, who performed his surgery. Following our conversation, Lynn emailed Dr. Samadi with my information. In the meantime, Alicia and I met with Dr. Sarram on Wednesday afternoon. Our 90 minute session with Dr. Sarram was very informative. Dr. Sarram explained the biopsy results and superimposed the data on a nomograph to predict the stage of my cancer. Dr. Sarram's assessment was that my cancer was at Stage 1/borderline Stage 2. Following this systematic review of all the data, Dr. Sarram made his recommendation for treatment: Surprise - Robotic Prostatectomy. I then mentioned to Dr. Sarram that I had independently come to the same conclusion and that I had the name of a top notch doctor in New York who has performed over 2,000 of these surgeries. Dr. Sarram mentioned that he also performs the same surgery using the same robotic technology - da Vinci. I asked him about his experience with robotic prostatectomies. He said that he had performed about 300 of such surgeries. I felt confident that Dr. Sarram could successfully perform the surgery and I was not keen on having to travel to New York. I felt confident that having robotic surgery with Dr. Sarram would be successful. I asked for referrals of former patients and all three referrals gave Dr. Sarram glowing reports. That same evening, I emailed Lynn Lane about the results of my meeting with Dr. Sarram and that I preferred to have the surgery in Colorado. Early Thursday morning, I received an email from Dr. Samadi in New York and also a response from Lynn in Houston. It was a full court press from both for me to go to New York. I was conflicted. Lynn wrote that this was a once in a lifetime chance and that I should go with the best. Dr. Samadi was very kind and confident that he could take good care of me. I was blessed with what I thought were two good options. I struggled with my two options Wednesday night and throughout Thursday afternoon when I received a phone call from New York. It was Dr. Samadi. This phone call clinched it. Dr. Samadi was both passionate and compassionate. I asked myself: why would a top doctor in New York, if not the country, call someone he had never met unless he really cared. The decision was made. I was going to have a robotic assisted prostatectomy by Dr. Samadi in New York City. Wow, what a decision. What was left for me to do was talk with Dr. Sarram. I was only able to reach his nurse and informed her of my decision. I'm sure Dr. Sarram was disappointed, but I had to make a decision which was in my best interest and not worry about how others may feel. (Click on the link below to view Dr. Samadi's very informative web site: Robotic Prostatectomy & da Vinci Robotic Surgery - Information
Thoughts That May Be Of Help To Others This stage in the journey may not be the most painful, but certainly the most difficult. The information on the Internet is overwhelming. As Steve Schoger wrote, "just doing a search under "Prostate Cancer Treatment" yields 6 million links!!" Making contact with family and friends who may have first-hand experience can be very helpful in narrowing the options to a very few best. I've included relevant links in the Journey Stages as a way of facilitating the search for information. It is important to have a process in mind on how to get to a decision. However, it is also important to stay flexible and open to all the possibilities that arise. In the midst of a serious health crisis, it is very empowering to be in charge, yet allow God to be in control.
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