Greg鈥檚 story is one about the value of keeping up with your health. For most of his life, Greg had only a little experience with healthcare: regular checkups and no major illnesses. After a routine physical exam in 2011, his PSA score came back at 24.8, an indicator of prostate cancer. He hadn鈥檛 had high readings before, so he was surprised to say the least. Upon learning he did in fact have a tumor, Greg said, 鈥渕ine was a little aggressive, in fact I had an 8 Gleason score so it was pretty big.鈥� It was time to take action.
Greg knew he couldn鈥檛 wait very long, but he wanted to seek other opinions. He reached out to his primary care physician and friends for input. Several times, he was directed to Dr. Frank Lai at El Camino Hospital. 鈥淗e went through the science of everything and he described the different procedures,鈥� said Greg, 鈥渁nd he took the trouble to not only talk to me about his recommendation, but also helped me understand what other options were available.鈥� In short, he gave Greg everything he was looking for.
Greg elected to remove the prostate using the Da Vinci robotic technique, a non-invasive option with a high success rate. The procedure was a success. The tumor was completely removed, and Greg had no post-procedure irritation or pain. The next day, he went home.
His follow-up treatment included half a year鈥檚 worth of radiation and check-ups every three months. To this day, Greg remains free of cancer. He鈥檚 grateful to be back to his favorite hobbies: grandkids and golf. His advice to anyone dealing with prostate cancer is, gather as much information as possible and get several medical opinions. And of course, 鈥淭he main thing is you need to get your check-ups,鈥� says Greg.
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