M. Lester H., Houston, TX

"Dr. Kevin Slawin and his caring, highly professional staff found and successfully addressed the cancer other good people missed.  The follow-up care I receive is as good as it gets.  I cannot imagine better care than I received from diagnosis through surgery and now in follow-up."

Hi traveler,

Prostate cancer can shorten your trip. For me Dr. Kevin Slawin and his caring, highly professional staff found and successfully addressed the cancer other good people missed. For more than a decade I lived with an enlarged prostate. Repeated infections became a way of life and the answer was always antibiotics. Because I was under urologist care I convinced myself that I was addressing my prostate issues in a responsible manner.

My wife was not convinced and deep down I had concerns. After watching one of my closest friends go to a premature grave I agreed to get a second opinion. Several other friends had high praise for Dr. Slawin. In late 2006 I scheduled an appointment. Initially everything looked good however Dr. Slawin saw something in my blood-work that concerned him. It was just over 3 but he asked me to have a biopsy. I had it on a Thursday and Tuesday Pat Meyers called. I had cancer in two locations.

In a wonderfully compassionate, extraordinarily clear and firmly calm way Dr. Slawin and John Dodge explained my options to Mrs. H. and me. Thankfully my cancer had not metastasized. A radical robotic prostatectomy was an option and at that time Dr. Slawin had performed this surgery over 1,400 times. Though Dr. Slawin is one of the world’s top urologists he practices exclusively in the field of prostate issues. I found great comfort in his extensive expertise and experience. He is a true specialist.

On the morning of January 15, 2007 my need was addressed. The procedure was minimally invasive. I missed only one Sunday from my pulpit. Though the cancer was against the prostate wall in one place Dr. Slawin’s work resulted in only minor nerve damage. Sexual function returned and with therapy I learned to control incontinence. For a 70 year old I am far ahead of the curve. I see John Dodge twice yearly and my numbers are great. The follow-up care I receive is as good as it gets. John Dodge and Dr. Slawin are more than medical care-givers to me; they are friends. When Pat Meyers recently passed from this life I felt as though I lost a family member.

I thank God for intersecting my path with Dr. Kevin Slawin. God used him and his team of professionals to save my life. He is tops in his field. I cannot imagine better care than I received from diagnosis through surgery and now in follow-up. Having said the last words over several hundred of my fellow-travelers, many of them prostate victims, I urge men to be ever vigilant. Get regular check-ups. Do not ignore warning signs or assume that every urologist is infallible. Had I waited much longer it is doubtful that you would be reading these lines. I am most grateful for my wife Margaret who urged me to get a second opinion and for Dr. Kevin Slawin who diagnosed my cancer and successfully removed it.

Sincerely,

M. Lester H. DD
Houston, TX