In 2014, the universe sent me a wake-up call: pancreatic cancer. Five years, eight surgeries, a liver transplant, chemo twice, radiation, life support twice… still here to tell the story, and cancer-free. Can’t complain!
But it was time for a change. I sold my 36-doctor multispecialty veterinary hospital and retired from practice. Two years later, I stepped away from business endeavors to devote my time to researching the subject of positivity. The result is this book.
My avocation is adventure travel. I have skied to the South Pole, reached the North Pole by dogsled, retraced Shackleton’s crossing of the Antarctic island of South Georgia, driven a 1909 Model T in the 2007 centennial restaging of the 1907 Peking-to-Paris road rally… have visited over 80 countries so far.
Want more details?
Adventure travel : In addition to the above-mentioned expeditions, I have summited Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, 4 peaks in the Ruwenzoris (the Mountains of the Moon), and Orizaba; no luck on Mt. Vinson. In 2002 I completed the Kailash Kora in Tibet, in fifteen and a half hours.
Paragliding, white-water rafting, scuba diving, and a thirst for experience have led me around the world, to over 80 countries. I’ve shared a beer with a monkey in Peru, shaken hands (tentacles?) with a cuttlefish in Australia, bumped noses with a shark in the Cayman Islands, driven a tank in Minnesota, ballooned over Bagan… where next? Wherever it may be, I’m looking forward to it.
Pancreatic cancer : I was diagnosed in September 2014, and underwent surgery (a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy) followed by 6 months of chemotherapy.
The malignancy recurred in late 2016; I had a follow-up partial pancreatectomy in January 2017. Another 6 months of chemotherapy followed, at the end of which I developed near-fatal chemotherapy-induced lung inflammation, spending a week on life support followed by weeks in intensive care.
Yet another mass in the remaining portion of the pancreas was identified on a CT scan in late 2017. It persisted despite radiation therapy. So, in February 2018, a Whipple procedure was performed, removing the rest of the pancreas as well as part of the stomach and small intestine. In the subsequent 3 weeks, blood-vessel-related complications led to a liver transplant and two follow-up procedures. I left the hospital after 2 months.
A CT scan in June 2019 showed enlarged lymph nodes in my chest, a possible sign of cancer recurrence. A biopsy fortunately revealed an inflammatory condition (sarcoidosis) but no cancer. However, severe bleeding within the chest cavity subsequently developed, necessitating two open-chest surgical procedures (a median sternotomy and a lateral thoracotomy), life support for nearly two weeks, and another 3 weeks in the ICU.
Veterinary surgeon : I am a board-certified specialist in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care, and the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. I am the only veterinarian in the United States to achieve this triple specialty certification.
I co-founded the Animal Specialty & Emergency Center in West Los Angeles in 2004, after 18 years at the California Animal Hospital. Due to neuropathy, I retired from veterinary practice after 33 years, in 2018.
