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All our research indicated that at my age, surgery was by far the best option. I had forty more years to live - I did not want to take any chances. As one radiologist explained, they could certainly kill this cancer and this cancer would not come back. But if I had forty years more to live, I would almost certainly be guaranteed that another cancer would show up. I had the genetic markers for it, I already had the 47 years of lifestyle. My urologist was a great guy, but it was a small regional hospital (I live just outside New York City) and, with the Dr's support, I started exploring. Extensive time on the internet brought up lots of institutions and doctors. I first went to Memorial Sloan-Kettering, then to Columbia-Presbyterian. I also saw a holistic urologist. They all told me I was an excellent candidate for surgery. With my work schedule, I was under a bit of a time crunch. All doctors told me they could operate in four to five months. I had to look elsewhere. |
Thanks, Dr. Samadi Like most 46 year olds, prostate cancer was the last thing on my mind. I had been going to the gym four days a week and was in pretty good shape. My family doctor is a friend of mine and he would hound me every year until I would finally get a routine physical. Unbeknownst to me, my doctor had been checking my PSA since I was forty - he said he simply found too much PCa in guys in their forties to ignore it. |
January 2006, my PSA jumped to 4.6, but it had been climbing over the few years before that. I saw two different urologists, had my biopsy in March and they found High-grade PIN. Well, where there is smoke there is fire. Urologists suggested waiting six months for another biopsy. In November I had another PSA and it was 5.6. The next biopsy found the cancer; Gleason 6, but growing. The day after that news, my father died of prostate cancer. With that family history, I had to be as aggressive as possible. |
Dr. David B. Samadi |
The day came- the entire surgery wing was completely empty off all patients and staff except for Dr. Samadi's. It really hit us then what a huge favor he was doing for us. I was prepped, taken to surgery and woke up in recovery. My wife told me that Dr. Samadi was able to save all the nerves on both sides and things looked really good. I survived the usual catheter period. I was dry at eight weeks. At eight weeks, with Viagra, I was able to have a normal sex life. I am one of the lucky ones - not only because I am doing so well, but I found Dr. Samadi. And he is the reason I am doing so well. He is one of the most prolific Davinci surgeons around, having performed 2,400 of them. He is often found on FOX News talking about prostate cancer, surgeries, Erectile Dysfunction, the latest trends in treatments and giving hope to millions of men. If you're looking for the best, look no further. |
During our research, Dr. David Samadi's name kept coming up. We were in the city for a few days and on Dec. 21, we went to Mt. Sinai Hospital and Dr. Samadi took me as an extra appointment at the end of his day. First of all, his office staff could not be more professional, empathetic and kind. Dr. Samadi himself was soft-spoken, encouraging, kind, and reassuring. We talked about the priorities of cancer removal, continence and impotence. He took one look at my files and slides and told me every doctor would love to have me as a patient because the outlook for me was excellent. I explained my need for speed. |
He put his head down and thought for a moment. "I am doing a professional courtesy surgery on a Saturday morning in two weeks on a fellow doctor. I could fit you in at 10:30" We jumped at it. He explained that he could do traditional open surgery, laparoscopic and robotic - so no matter what may transpire during the surgery, he could handle it all. Then he did something that has certainly never happened to me before. He gave us his personal cell phone number and encouraged us to call with any question! |
