“At Fox Chase, it’s on their faces and in their actions and words that the patient is the most important person in the room. We need more Fox Chases — they are the gold standard.”‐Larry Cook
My wife Leslie and I are very proactive about our health, which is how I discovered I had bile duct cancer. About a decade ago, my older brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer and later developed issues with his bladder as well. My prostate-specific antigen levels have always been low, but when my brother got cancer, it made me nervous because I knew it could be genetic and run in the family.
Finally, in early 2022, I decided to get a thorough workup for my own peace of mind. The abdominal CT scan my urologist ordered showed my bladder was fine, but there was some soft tissue density in one of the bile ducts located between the lobes of my liver.
After a specialized MRI confirmed the mass, I made an appointment with a local liver specialist. As it turned out, he had previously been a gastroenterologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center. He performed a specialized type of endoscopy to biopsy the mass, and when it came back positive for bile duct cancer, he recommended going to Fox Chase.
Choosing the Best at Fox Chase
In a situation like this, you have to look for the best person and team you can find. So on April 16, 2022, I entered my information on the Fox Chase website. The very next day, a surgery scheduling nurse called me, and we made an appointment for a few days later with the surgical oncologist who would eventually remove my tumor, Dr. Jason Castellanos.
At our first appointment, Leslie and I met with both Dr. Castellanos and his physician assistant, Max Lefton. They were extremely informative and showed us charts and images to help explain what was happening in my body. Dr. Castellanos said that my cancer, called a Klatskin tumor, is rare, and while it’s a particularly aggressive form of cancer, symptoms don’t typically appear until it’s progressed pretty far. He was very positive about how early we’d caught mine.
By the end of the four-hour appointment, I’d had another CT scan and we had scheduled presurgery testing for the following week. I was in a bit of a state of shock because everything was happening so fast, but I also believed Dr. Castellanos knew what he was talking about. I trusted him. He also clearly cared about me and my wife. By the time Leslie and I left that initial appointment, we were as knowledgeable, comfortable, and confident as Dr. Castellanos could make us.
Surgery Success
On the morning of June 1, 2022, I went into surgery to have the tumor in my bile duct removed. Nearly seven hours later, I woke up in the recovery room with Leslie, my brother-in-law and his wife, and Dr. Castellanos, who told us the surgery had gone well and that he was happy with the results.
In fact, my results were so good that later that month, once I was home from the hospital, he called to tell me that the pathologist had found no signs of cancer in any lymph nodes and that the cancer did not invade through the bile duct tissue, so I could forgo undergoing chemotherapy. The surgery would be the end of my cancer treatment.
Of course, surgery can come with complications. About a month and a half afterwards, I went to Temple Hospital’s emergency room and later that evening was admitted to an inpatient ward at Fox Chase because of infection.
Leslie slept on a couch in the waiting room that night. But the next morning, when Max arrived, he arranged for a room for her at Hope Lodge, the short-term residence near Fox Chase run by the American Cancer Society, where she had also stayed during my surgery. It was quintessential Fox Chase: There was a problem, and they fixed it, just like that.
Aiming for Five Years Cancer-Free
After getting over the infection, I continued to recover well. I’ve regained much of the weight I lost, and while I have to take it a little easier with ab work at the gym, I am back to doing pretty much all of my regular activities, including gardening, walking, and volunteer activities with Leslie. Our goal now is to hit that five-year cancer-free mark, and I feel I’m on my way.
I’m so thankful for being able to connect with such talented, honest people. At Fox Chase, it’s on their faces and in their actions and words that the patient is the most important person in the room. We need more Fox Chases — they are the gold standard.
Learn more about treatment for bile duct cancer at Fox Chase Cancer Center.