Michael Lax: Cancer Free After a 第二个意见 at UCSF

What was your life like before your diagnosis?

Before I got sick, I was like any other guy who went to work. I worked a lot of hours trying to provide for my family and grow in my career.

All of a sudden one day, I found out I was suffering from cancer, and it changes you. 它会改变你的观点. You have a drive, but it's a drive to survive. 这不是你事业发展的动力.

What was it like to decide to undergo the UCSF surgery after your initial surgery?

这是一个非常艰难的决定. The odds were saying this patient has, on average, nine months to live. 我说, “好吧, I have that nine months banked with my kids and my family, or I can do this surgery and I may not even have that nine months. 或者我可以有更长的时间.“这是一场赌博. 我来来回回.

I certainly didn't want to live the rest of my nine months in the hospital. But at the end of the day, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Corvera, this renowned surgeon who gave me, little old me, his cell phone number. 我在一个星期六的下午给他打了电话. He took time from the soccer game where his kid was playing to talk to me, 他帮我做了这个决定. He kind of made me feel better that the odds were in my favor with the surgery, 这就是把我逼到崩溃边缘的原因.

Dr. Niemann, the anesthesiologist, also gave me his cell phone number. 他说, 顺便说一下, 我甚至可能不允许做手术," because after doing a few rounds of chemo, 我很虚弱. 他说:“你可能不够坚强." I took that as a personal challenge, so I got on my elliptical. I was pedaling away on the elliptical for a few weeks, 这样我才能通过压力测试, 这样我就可以向十大赌博平台排行榜证明. 尼曼说我足够坚强.

What did you learn from that whole process?

你得问问别人的意见.

We learned through simple research that there are places with expertise in rare cancers. 加州大学旧金山分校就是其中之一. 并不是加州大学旧金山分校给了我瞬间的希望. They agreed with the initial diagnosis, but the whole approach was different. They didn't say, "We're here to manage the end of your life.他们说:“这是一个治疗方案。."

然后博士. Kelley brings my case to the tumor board (a regular gathering of UCSF oncologists and other specialists that allows them to confer on challenging cases), 然后她打电话给我们说, “我们认为我们有一个手术选择." I had been told there was no surgical option. 事情开始发生变化.

事情是如何开始改变的?

Dr. Kelley gave us a sense that UCSF really had an understanding of cholangiocarcinoma, 有计划攻击我的案子吗. She never promised me an outcome but gave me the feeling that I was in good care. 为此，我永远心存感激.

你做手术时是怎么想的?

I didn't think the surgery was going to save my life.

我有希望. I had a whole lot of hope – more than I ever had with the other hospital. But I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be here, two years later, cancer free. Now I'm going to live a long life, as long a life as I otherwise would have. 我在做以前常做的事.

癌症后你的生活有什么不同?

在很多方面, 你回到了日常生活中, but I've always got cancer in the back of my mind. 对此我总是有点紧张. Every now and then, I feel like, “Uh-oh, it might be coming back.” Which is wrong; it's not. You try not to think about those things, but it's not cliché to say that you value life more. 我珍惜和家人在一起的时光. I've been pushing my wife to do more vacations. 我还是以前那个我. I'm not going to let cancer change me that much.

我仍然只是一个父亲. 那是我.

You mentioned how your wife supported you during this process and was the one to find the UCSF program. Did this experience change your relationship?

我的婚姻更牢固. My wife was with me every day, every single appointment, and there were so many appointments. 她从不错过任何一个.

She went with me everywhere and held my hand. It made all the difference in the world that she was there next to me.

It's not just being in debt to my wife; it's the bond that was created. It's a stronger bond than I've ever had with anybody.

你在加州大学旧金山分校的总体经历如何?

我在十大赌博平台排行榜住了28天. 你会认识十大赌博平台排行榜和护士. 加州大学旧金山分校的护士是首屈一指的. They truly take an interest in you and get to know you.

We had a sofa bed in there, where my wife basically slept for the 28 days. The nurses would take care of her as if she was a patient.

你最大的教训是什么?

当你得了一种罕见的癌症，还有希望. Get with an organization like UCSF or some other center that is a specialist, and there's hope.