Textbook of
Robotic Urologic
Surgery.



Release Date:
January, 2007

Michael Esposito,
Vincent Lanteri
&
Jeffrey Stock

For three brothers, a Father's Day without cancer

All defeat problems with prostate

Sunday, June 17, 2007

BY LESLIE KWOH

Star-Ledger Staff

Two Father's Days ago, the Danishek brothers and their families were wondering whether it might be their last.

After an annual physical check- up in May, Jerry Danishek was told that he had prostate cancer. Within one month, his twin Jim and baby brother Bruce were also diagnosed with a "silent" cancer.

This Father's Day, with a blur of doctor's visits, hospital stays and surgeries behind them -- the three Florham Park brothers are in re mission and thankful they can celebrate today.

"It kind of makes you realize you have to live for now," Jerry said.

It all started when Jerry went for a routine physical in April 2005. Jerry, who is now 62, had always passed but this time doctors ordered a biopsy. One month later, he was diagnosed with the cancer.

As soon as Jerry got the diagnosis, he raced back to his brothers with the news. He knew that if he had cancer, there was a high probability his brothers would, too. "I knew it was something they were probably not even aware of. There weren't any symptoms, and it could go totally unnoticed," he said.

He was right.

"I had gone regularly for annual checkups, but they had showed nothing," said Bruce, 60. "My brother saved my life, basically."

According to the American Cancer Society, one in every six men will get prostate cancer and about 220,000 American men will be diagnosed this year. While it is the most common type found in men today, along with skin cancer, prostate cancer exhibits no visible symptoms.

Michael Esposito, who is Jim and Bruce's doctor at the Hacken sack Medical Center, said prostate cancer is strongly linked to genetics. Having a primary relative with it can double or triple the risk, he said, and the brothers' parents died from cancer before the age of 50.

"But the Danisheks were unusual because I've never seen three relatives have the cancer at the same time," he said.

The news also shook their families, who had been busily planning ways to spend Father's Day with the men. Bruce's daughter, Christi, said she recalls feeling scared she would lose the three father figures in her life.

"It was devastating, really scary. When I found out all three had cancer at the same time, it was very overwhelming," she said. "My father has been my rock through everything, and it was just hard to take in. It was very upsetting to think your father could die."

To keep their shop, Florham Park Liquors, in business, the brothers agreed to stagger their surgeries. Jerry traveled to Baltimore, where he opted for the more traditional open surgery at Johns Hopkins University. His wife and children -- Gerard, who is now 27, and Julie, who is 24 -- visited him at the hospital, and later spent a quiet Father's Day with him while he recovered at home.

Bruce and Jim went to Hacken sack Medical Center several months later, where they opted for a less invasive and newer robotic surgery. The process entails having a surgeon guide the fingers of a robot through tiny, keyhole inci sions in the skin, and the two patients recovered fully within a week. Vincent Lanteri, co-director of urological surgery at Hackensack Medical Center, said the technique is less painful and involves a shorter recovery period than traditional methods.

While there is always a possibility the cancer may return, Esposito said the three brothers are essentially cured. "There's a 90 percent chance it won't return, and we are monitoring them once every six months," he said.

Esposito said he hopes other men will learn from the Danisheks and undergo regular blood tests and digital rectal exams beginning at age 48. Those with a family history of cancer or of African-American descent should begin tests at 38.

Bruce's daughter, Christi, said the experience has made her cherish every moment she has with her father. This Father's Day, the two will go watch the Mets play the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

"I'm so thankful it's all over, so relieved," she said. "I know this sounds cheesy, but I couldn't ask for a better father."