Clarence Lamers
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I heard there was an enormous celebration the day I was born. After four girls, there was finally a boy to carry on the family name! I still laugh to this very day when I recall the story about how my grandfather took the horse and buggy into the neighboring town to buy everyone at the local pub drinks to celebrate. When some concern was expressed as to how he would find his way back home, he replied that he didn't need to know how to get back as long as the horse knew the way!
As the only boy in my family, I was particularly close to my father. We were virtually inseparable. I was also born during the economic depression. Consequently, with my Dad as my role model, I learned that you do whatever it takes to survive. I worked long and hard hours alongside my dad doing whatever was necessary to support the family. I watched with love and admiration as my Mom and four older sisters did the same.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998 after a routine physical examination revealed a high PSA level. The diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy. Two months later, I underwent surgery to remove my prostate. This was followed by a course of radiation. Then on May 1, 2000, I underwent a bone scan which revealed that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. My urologist informed me that there was nothing that could be done. Prior to cancer, I had an aortic valve replacement and two coronary bypass surgeries and an aortic valve replacement. My urologist informed me that the cancer had spread dangerously close to my heart and that, therefore, there was nothing that could be done. Essentially what he told me was that I had a choice, death by cancer or death by heart disease. I was not willing to accept either!
About the only thing worse than hearing the word, CANCER, is hearing the word, HOSPICE. I sat in my doctor's office initially stunned when he told me that he would not abandon me but that I would need to get my affairs in order and spend my remaining days in hospice. What my doctor failed to realize though, was that I was raised during the depression era. Children raised during those times of economic hardship were and are not quitters. You see, I was a survivor long before I was ever diagnosed with cancer.
Prior to my surgery, my wife had requested and received a brochure from Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I simply tossed it aside and proceeded with the prostate surgery without exploring my other options. This time around, I was determined not to make the same mistake. My daughter, who lived near CTCA's Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, personally visited the facility on my behalf. Within days, my wife and I were on our way to Zion ourselves for three days of tests and consultations.
Three days! That may seem overwhelming to some but to me it was quite reassuring. What I loved, was that Dr. Mellijor and my other health care providers did not simply promise things without knowing my full medical history and picture. Before I retired, my profession was that of a mechanical engineer. Having an engineering background, I loved the fact that the doctors insisted on backing up their opinions with studies and details. They were using methodology, statistics and organization. These are the same skills I used my entire life. I instantly felt more comfortable.
After all of the blood work and necessary scans were completed, a course of treatment individually designed for me, was put into action. This was not a cookie cutter approach. They treated all of me. I received nutritional guidance. The pastor assisted me with my spiritual needs. The cardiologist worked in tandem with my oncology urologist.
Years later, my bone scans remain clean. My PSA is normal. I continue to go back to CTCA for routine follow-up visits. In a sense, it is like going back home. It feels so comfortable. I continue to take the nutritional supplements that I started when I first discovered CTCA. I'm even teaching my cardiologist here in my hometown about what I've learned at CTCA and he is quite impressed.
All of my health care providers at CTCA had integrity. No one ever guaranteed that they could cure me. There were no false promises. They did, though, promise that they had the technology, skill and passion to do everything they could and would fight alongside of me. Even though my Dad had passed on, I felt as if he were still with me too!
I have several important pieces of advice to pass on. Gentlemen, if your wives or significant others hand you a brochure or literature on Cancer Treatment Centers of America, do not simply toss it aside as I did. I realize that we all benefit from the powers of hindsight. However, had I taken the time to more closely look at what CTCA had to offer right from the start, I may have been able to avoid some of the consequences from my earlier treatment from which I now suffer. Secondly, make sure you receive treatment from an oncologist. The treatment I received prior to learning of CTCA was provided by a urologist without specialized training in oncology.
"Had I only known then what I know now" are words that I passionately speak when I regularly address the prostate support group with which I am involved. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I repeatedly emphasize that CTCA offers the technologies, therapies and human touch that make a difference. I tell all who will listen that CTCA recruits and retains only the best health care providers who not only have the skills to treat but the compassion and desire as well. They don't take away hope. They give you hope!
