When the Doctor Is the Patient

Three years ago, Dr. Paul Lange was already a world-famous doctor, chairman of the Department of Urology at the University of Washington, and renowned for his skill as a surgeon and his research on urological cancers, including prostate cancer.

Then he got prostate cancer.

His experience with prostate cancer, Dr. Lange says, made him an even better doctor, one who is more empathetic to his patients' fears and concerns. "It's changed the way I listen to patients," says Dr. Lange, who is now cured of the disease. "I'm a lot more sympathetic to [their worries] than I was before. I don't think there's any question about that."

Having prostate cancer led Dr. Lange to write "Prostate Cancer for Dummies" (Wiley Publishing, 2003), an informative and readable book that is selling well. "The 'Dummies' called me and asked me to participate, and initially I said no, thinking there were enough books out there," he says.

"But they convinced me there was a need for a book that was more layman-sensitive … and patients seem to like this book better and seem to understand better from reading this book."

The book was a collaboration with a co-author, Christine Adamec, an experienced medical writer whose husband is a prostate cancer survivor. More than 10,000 copies of the book have been sold to date.

Heal thyself—or chose the next best option

Dr. Lange, who helped develop the PSA test, designed to detect prostate cancer, began testing his own PSA in his 50s. "It started to go up," he says, "so I got a biopsy."

When he heard the diagnosis of prostate cancer, just like any other man, he says, "I went through a lot of things. Anxiety. I was scared and worried."

Dr. Lange chose his colleague, Dr. William Ellis, as his surgeon. "I have always considered our group to be a world-class center, so leaving for another place and surgeon would have reflected badly, and would not have 'kept it quiet,'" Dr. Lange says. "Besides, I helped train him, so in a way it was the closest thing I could get to a mirror."

Dr. Lange adds that he had no side effects from the surgery and did not need any other treatment. "Bill did a wonderful job," he says. "Indeed, my wife says--I hope jokingly--'Unfortunately, it didn't change him.' … And I am almost certainly cured."

Going strong

Having prostate cancer doesn't seem to have slowed Dr. Lange's pace.  His resume, 31 tightly spaced pages, lists achievements including hundreds of publications, positions on the editorial boards of nine journals, a year as president of the Society of Urologic Oncology, a number of awards and his recent election to the American Board of Urology.

In addition to being chairman of the Department of Urology at the University of Washington, Dr. Lange is also director of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute, a collaboration between the University of Washington Academic Medical Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. It includes more than 50 researchers and clinician/scientists working on prostate cancer. Many are international leaders in the field.

The clinician/scientists in the group devote most, if not all, of their time to treating patients with prostate cancer and doing either basic or clinical research, Dr. Lange says. The group includes urologists, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. They work closely together, and see patients either at the prostate clinic at the SCCA clinic or at the new SCCA Prostate Cancer Center at the University of Washington Medical Center. 

Dr. Lange is a restless man. Even when he settles in his desk chair for a conversation, he never really settles. He jumps up to grab a brochure off a shelf, to check something on his computer, then to ask his assistant for a copy of his book. During a whirlwind tour of the new SCCA Prostate Center, he strides through the corridors of the new facility, opening and closing doors along the way and describing the function of each office.

Dr. Lange's energy and attention to detail are part of what make him a great doctor. Denise Chmela-Gerdon, Dr. Lange's assistant since 1990, says, "He is one of a kind."

Click here for Dr. Paul Lange's SCCA Directory Listing

Copies of Dr. Lange's book, "Prostate Cancer for Dummies," can be checked out from the Resource Center on the first floor of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

June 2004