Prostate Cancer Survivor, Patrick Walsh, Shares His Take on Beating Prostate Cancer

As the second leading cause of death in U.S. men, prostate cancer cannot be ignored. During Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. David Samadi, Vice Chairman, Department of Urology, and Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, wants to be sure the message of early screening and treatment is getting across loud and clear. Dr. Samadi has performed over 3,500 successful robotic prostatectomy surgeries and his 97 percent cure rate leaves patients with many good things to say about him and life after prostate cancer.

This February, prostate cancer survivor Patrick Walsh underwent robotic prostatectomy surgery in the hands of Dr. Samadi. Nine months later and completely rid of cancer, he’s glad he did. “When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer I was completely symptom free,” Walsh shares. “I dutifully went for my PSA screening each year and was shocked to learn that this time something was wrong.” Dr. Samadi subsequently recommended robotic prostatectomy surgery. “The benefits of surgery,” Dr. Samadi explains, “is that it effectively eliminates the cancer. Unfortunately, existing screening tests do have limitations in terms of precisely staging the cancer.” According to Dr. Samadi, 40% of the time, post-surgery testing shows prostate cancer to be more advanced than pre-surgical staging tests indicated. “For me, and my patients, those are odds that make watchful waiting an unacceptable option, for example.”

For high-risk men screenings should begin at 40

Dr. Samadi urges men over 50 to have annual PSA screenings. For high-risk men — those with a family history of prostate cancer or African American men — screenings should begin at 40. “Without that test, Patrick’s cancer would have developed into something much more difficult to treat,” says Dr. Samadi. “Thankfully we were able to react to his test results quickly and remove the cancer.”

“Dr. Samadi was an easy choice,” Walsh says. “He and his team have a ten-year track record that’s too great to ignore. I had no hesitation about following his recommendation for robotic surgery. The last thing I wanted was a lifetime of worrying about the status of my prostate cancer.” Dr. Samadi uses a customized surgical technique coined “SMART surgery.” The Samadi Modified Advanced Robotic Technique employs the da Vinci Surgical System to remove the prostate and all surrounding cancer with minimal trauma to the surrounding healthy tissue and nerve bundles. With this approach, Dr. Samadi delivers a treatment trifecta — the cancer is cured, urinary continence is maintained and sexual potency is preserved.