My name is Joe. I am 62 years old and I live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with my wife of 32 years. Our two boys have graduated college and are both living and working in New York City. I have had my own business for thirty years, doing commercial construction and maintaining my own buildings, I also own and operate two Laundromats.

I am very active on a daily basis, basically working out of my car as I travel from site to site. I don't slow down on my time off as ! enjoy boating and spend weekends and summers at the Jersey shore. I have been generally good about regular check-ups over the years. These had always been good, except for an elevated PSA level which showed up about three years ago. Eventually I went for a biopsy. Unfortunately, cancer was discovered in November of 2004.

Several doctors were recommended and I was confused about making the best decision. My oldest son went a step further and began reading and searching the Internet for more information on physicians experienced in the various possible treatments. We even watched several procedures on the computer. Through his search my son came up with the team of Lanteri and Esposito as the most proficient at the procedure. I had opted for Robotic Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy. As it turned out, other doctors I knew and friends who knew of the team concurred with his findings. I was lucky to get an appointment in a month's time.

I felt confident with Drs. Lanteri and Esposito from the first visit. While I was not excited about the idea of surgery, I felt that I was literally in the best hands possible. I was also happy that the procedure would be performed at Hackensack University Medical Center. My surgery was scheduled for February 2005. I followed a prescribed diet to drop down a few pounds to an optimum weight, something I needed to do anyway. Everything was in place when I was thrown a curve. I got food poisoning two days before my scheduled surgery. Besides being sick, I was devastated at the thought that my surgery might have to be pushed up a month because of the tight schedule and my weakened condition.

It was at that point that Dr. Lanteri and Dr. Esposito's staff took over, making phone calls to try to find someone willing to reschedule so valuable time would not be lost. Meanwhile, Dr. Lanteri was on the phone with my wife several times a day to monitor my condition. Through their united efforts my condition improved and surgery was rescheduled for two days later. Amazing!

The operation went as planned from that point. I was only in the hospital overnight. I wore a catheter for five days as I healed, but thanks to the expertise of my doctors I did not suffer incontinence upon the removal of the catheter. Two weeks later I was easing back into my regular routine and looking forward to a healthy and active future.