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A Revolutionary Prostate Cancer Treatment Restores a Man's Health

Bob and Patty

Bob was never ill. He went to his physician regularly for check-ups. As a general contractor and a weekend golfer, he felt he stayed in good shape. Even in the off-season, he went to the gym to use the Nautilus equipment, elliptical machines, and the treadmill.

After lifting 80 pound bags of cement on a contracting job, Bob thought he had injured himself. Instead he learned he had an enlarged prostate and was prescribed medication. Everything seemed to be fine for the next year. Then, after a routine follow-up appointment, Bob’s physician informed him that the latest tests revealed he had prostate cancer, and that it was Stage IV.

His wife, Patty, immediately started doing research and talking with friends. Everything she read indicated that Bob needed a second opinion, and that his best chance for survival lay at Wilmot Cancer Institute. She learned Dr. Ahmed Ghazi had completed a laparoscopic fellowship in France under the physician who revolutionized the laparoscopic prostatectomy technique, in addition to completing a robotic fellowship at one of the most distinguished institutions in the United States. Bob and Patty met with Dr. Ghazi and, after a thorough discussion, elected to proceed with a robot assisted radical prostatectomy. He paired them with teams of experts including Dr. Chunkit Fung, an oncologist whose clinical research interests are genitourinary cancer and cancer survivorship, and with Dr. Hong Zhang, chief of Radiation Oncology at Highland Hospital.

Today, Bob is in remission. He credits his wife, Patty, and the Wilmot team—who became family to him—with saving his life.

Support Prostate Cancer

Bob is among the nearly one in seven men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. With your philanthropic partnership, we can provide state-of-the-art prostate cancer care for all of our patients, while we search for preventions and cures to help men around the world.

For more information about how your gift can make an impact, please contact:

Carolyn Donnelly
(585) 273-3176
carolyn.donnelly@rochester.edu

Prostate Cancer

Jonathan Friedberg M.D., M.M.Sc.

Director,
Wilmot Cancer Institute,
Samuel E. Durand Professor of Medicine

When you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you want the most advanced treatments to increase the likelihood of an excellent outcome. At UR Medicine, we provide the full range of treatment options—surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy—to do just that.

We have the most experienced prostate cancer surgeons in Western and Central New York. We were the first in the region to start a robotic prostatectomy program. We are the only center in the region offering HDR Brachytherapy, a radiation treatment that precisely targets cancer cells while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues. We are the only center to offer the UroNav Fusion Biopsy System for a more precise biopsy. We provide complete multi-disciplinary care, so you will have all the specialists you need—right in one place. And our research is the key to developing new lifesaving treatments and care.