Patient Stories

Thomas McNelley (Right)

"My uncle, who was a Chicago fireman, inspired me to establish my career in public service," says retired criminal investigator Thomas McNelley. An Air Force veteran, Tom spent almost ten years with the Chicago Police Department before applying to become a federal agent with the Department of Defense. He spent 18 months as one of several bodyguards for National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski during President Jimmy Carter's tenure, and a great deal of time working as a criminal investigator. He left Washington, D.C., in 1982 to open the Chicago branch of the Department of Defense's Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and relocated to Phoenix upon his retirement 20 years later. "With my law enforcement background, there are very few things that surprise me," he says.

But a year ago last September, Tom was having medical issues and made an appointment to see a urologist. Although it turned out to be a urinary tract infection, his physician recommended he consider having regular prostate checkups outside of his annual physical. "Like most men my age, my prostate was enlarged," Tom says. He underwent additional tests, including biopsies and ultrasounds, all of which came back negative with the exception of one small area. "We kept a close eye on it and every three months, I went to the urologist for a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test," he recalls. "But after a year, we did another biopsy and it came back positive for cancer."

Tom began to research all of his options, which included a second opinion. "I enlisted the advice of my personal physician and my wife's allergist," laughs Tom, "and everyone said the same thing - have it removed." With his mind made up, Tom launched an internet search and found Dr. Mitchell Kaye and the da Vinci Surgical System. "I met with Dr. Kaye and asked if he were me, what would he do? He reiterated what everyone else said - just eliminate the problem. Have it removed. At my age and with my life expectancy, it just made more sense," he says.

On November 24, 2004, Tom underwent a nervesparing operation to remove his prostate. In less than 48 hours, Tom was resting comfortably at his home in Goodyear. "I was extremely nervous because I'd never had surgery before," Tom says, "but the staff at Scottsdale Healthcare put my mind at ease."

Of course, the surgery is only as good as the surgeon performing the operation, but according to Tom, "The surgery is just unbelievable. I tell everyone I meet about Dr. Kaye and the procedure, and that the place to go is Scottsdale Healthcare."

With a clean bill of health, Tom is back to doing the things he loves - including playing golf and softball - as well as spreading the word about prostate health to The St. Thomas Aquinas Men's Club, The Knights of Columbus, and his community's prostate cancer support group. "Everyone needs to know the options available to them. I feel as good as new."

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