Caregivers Provide Cancer Patient With Confidence

Stewart Brown of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was in so much pain when breathing that he thought he had broken ribs. Finally, the pain got so bad that he called a neighbor to drive him to the hospital.

Stewart was diagnosed with life-threatening blood clots in his lungs and was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit. Once treated, he was beginning to feel better until he received a call from his physician telling him he had kidney cancer.

“I have to tell you, I never felt so bad in a long time,” says Stewart. He was at Cleveland Clinic two weeks later.

“I knew Cleveland Clinic from driving past it, but not from the patient perspective,” says Stewart, admitting that he and his wife were both worried about his chances of recovering.

The interaction and expertise of Jihad Kaouk, MD, director of the Center for Robotic & Image-Guided Surgery, and other Cleveland Clinic caregivers provided Stewart with the reassurance he needed.

“Dr. Kaouk was clearly a professional with a warm smile,” says Stewart. “That gave me confidence.”

Dr. Kaouk says Stewart had the manifestation of an occult or hidden cancer. “It was a small mass, but we had a challenging situation.”

“When you got something that could be bad, you want to take on a brave face. I had confidence that this was the place to be. I was going to be OK here.”

Dr. Kaouk performed minimally invasive keyhole surgery to expose the kidney area, and find and remove the mass. About 90 percent of Stewart’s kidney was untouched and preserved.

“When you got something that could be bad, you want to take on a brave face,” says Stewart. “I had confidence that this was the place to be. I was going to be OK here.”

“He did very well,” said Dr. Kaouk. “There were no complications. The mass was taken out completely. His kidney now works very well. And he went back to work in a few weeks.”

“Dr. Kaouk told me he does his work for every patient with his hands and his heart,” says Stewart. “There’s no doubt I came to the right place.”