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Patient Fully Recovers from Condition Predicted to be Fatal Bruce H. was suffering from several odd symptoms, including gastrointestinal upset, dark urine, weight loss of over 35 pounds and fatigue. Physicians were puzzled by the 40-year-old's condition and suspected everything from a parasitic infection to a liver problem. After being admitted to the hospital in March 2004 for a full medical workup, Mr. H. suspected the worst when he saw his wife crying after speaking with his gastroenterologist. I was lying on a gurney and saw her face, he recalls. I knew something was terribly wrong.
Tests confirmed the worst: a tumor in the bile duct that might be cancerous, and the possible spread of cancer to the lung. If cancer were to be confirmed in both locations, physicians said, then Mr. H. would be expected to live only nine months to a year. This form of cancer, described as a runaway train by the gastroenterologist, is very rare, especially in a relatively young man. For the father of a nine month old, the news was shocking. I went from a routine exam to putting my will in order, says Mr. H. You just go on automatic pilot when you are given a prognosis like that. It's hard to get pleasure from anything. That was a very dark time. Help Just in Time The results of a PET scan, a technology used to identify cancer in the body, showed no cancer in the lungs and a very small, cancerous tumor in the bile duct. Mr. H. underwent an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), which positively identified the tumor as a cancerous polyp. It was then that Mr. H. met Ronald Chamberlain, M.D., MPA, FACS, Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Dr. Chamberlain, who specializes in cancer surgery with an emphasis in the upper gastrointestinal area, offered the first ray of hope for the family. Dr. Chamberlain was so positive about my chance of recovery through surgery, he made me feel like I could get though anything, he says. I remember he told me that I could be around to see my young son graduate from high school. That really gave me hope for the first time. A Successful Operation It is an extremely incredible privilege to be able to help a patient and provide some hope and a commitment to take care of him or her as a patient, says Dr. Chamberlain. That bond between physician and patient is forever, and remains one of the most meaningful relationships possible. Five days later, laboratory tests confirmed that the cancer had been completely removed and showed no signs of spreading. The family celebrated, and Mr. H. helped to ensure his continued good health with six months of chemotherapy and 30 days of simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation treatments at The Cancer Center and The Department of Radiation Oncology, both at Saint Barnabas, followed by six months of chemotherapy. Six months after the surgery, he returned to work and was nominated for a special award to acknowledge his outstanding pharmaceutical sales performance. Now over a year later, Mr. H. has outlived original predictions and remains cancer-free in ongoing follow-up. Dr. Chamberlain saved my life and I thank God for him, says Mr. H. I hit my lowest point and he brought a fresh, positive perspective to the situation. I am very appreciative, and I intend to live a very nice, long life. [ top ] |
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