Charlie – Grateful Patient of Dr. Tsue

Cancer of the Salivary Gland

When asked to contribute to the Grateful Patient Stories program I did not hesitate to agree. My experience with Dr. Tsue and his team in the KU Otolaryngology department remains one of the most profound and positive experiences of my life. "Grateful" does not even begin to describe it! In considering how to best share my story I decided to include a letter I wrote to Dr. Tsue a month after my surgery.

But first, a few basic facts. I was treated for cancer of the salivary gland five years ago. The lump was discovered by my dental hygienist and was biopsied by a well respected oral surgeon who referred me to Dr. Tsue. I had 2 surgeries which involved removing the floor of the left side of my mouth, a part of my tongue, a bit of my jaw and a few lymph nodes. Dr. Tsue approached my surgery with the goal of avoiding radiation or chemo-therapy and he was successful. I have been in great health since then. What follows is my heartfelt letter to Dr. Tsue, written March 20, 2005:

Dear Dr. Tsue,

I wanted to share some of my feelings over the last month or so with you... mostly as a way of expressing my thanks for everything you have done for me and to let you know how much I admire you.

Beth and I both felt immediately at ease after our first appointment with you. I want to compliment you on every aspect of how you handled yourself that day. Up to that point I'd told myself that this was hopefully a temporary health situation that would have a quick fix. But in a very calm way you brought the reality of my cancer to life and then quickly took the burden and responsibility of it off of my shoulders and onto yours. Within that first meeting I realized this was serious stuff but that I was in great hands and that I had the right doctor and that nothing would be served by my panic! You must understand that I am a pretty big baby with no experience with ill health but I really kept calm from that point forward. I credit you completely with that. You have the perfect blend of professionalism, open friendliness, humor and the ability to put a patient completely at ease. You wear your intelligence, experience and talent in an easy way...confident and very accessible. I also felt that you had a special interest in my case and me personally, even when I am sure that all of your patients would say the same thing!

Of course, I mostly want to thank you for taking great care of me and for working so hard to make sure that we would beat this and that I could live the life that is ahead of me. I knew after the first surgery that you did not want to settle for a passive approach to my treatment and I was completely ready to go back in when you felt that I should. Now we can concentrate on fine-tuning my recovery and not worrying about treating more cancer. This whole experience has had a profound affect on me and at the risk of sounding dramatic, I hope that I continue to cherish my good health and do not take for granted what your skill and attention have given me. There were rare moments when I could imagine a different outcome to this. I definitely prefer the one that we have and words can't really capture how thankful I am. I'll never forget the evening of my second surgery when they brought the patient that you operated on after me into post-op at about 12:30 a.m. I could not imagine how difficult of a day you must have had. I have so much respect and admiration for your work and am deeply, deeply grateful to you. We both are. I feel so fortunate that you will be keeping an eye on me over the next few years.

My esteem and compliments also extend to your team. I always felt that I was receiving great care and attention from each of them. Please share my appreciation with them...I am very impressed with the next generation of doctors! That includes Judy...another calming influence who is both professional and friendly and expresses such care and concern.

Hey...in the amount of time you took to read this you probably could have seen another patient but I did want to let you know that everything you have done for me is so greatly appreciated and how very thankful I am to you Dr. Tsue.

Charlie

It surprises some people when I say would not have missed the lessons that my cancer journey taught me. The outpouring of love and support from family and friends is a very life affirming experience. So is learning that when you put your trust in the right doctor, the right team, and the right hospital you can get through almost anything. Five years later my appreciation and admiration for Dr. Tsue has only grown. I continue to be so thankful that there are individuals who dedicate themselves to healing and do so with such care, strength, determination and compassion.