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People On The Move: Laurence Feldman
10/24/2008 - By by Gayle Davis
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, and Marlboro resident Laurence Feldman is doing his part by spreading his message after his bout with early-stage pancreatic cancer. Laurence says, “My symptoms started while I was doing martial arts; although I had the power, I was running out of gas. My batteries were running low and I was constantly trying to keep up my energy levels.” He says he didn’t experience loss of appetite, but he just knew something wasn’t right. He thought he was suffering from stress, an ulcer, or perhaps coming down with the flu (he has young children).
Laurence didn’t wait. He went to the doctor, but his case was not easily diagnosed at first. It was suggested that he have a CT scan. Ironically, on January 11, 2008, Laurence’s 46th birthday, off he went for the test. Later that afternoon, he received a call from the testing center with the bad news – he required immediate additional testing. “I was in shock,” Feldman says. “By the end of the day I was starting to come to terms with a death sentence,” he adds. By the following week, doctors at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital had identified a tumor of approximately 4 cm on the head of his pancreas. “After this I had an endoscopy. The tumor could not be suctioned out; however, it was identified and decided that it could be removed. By luck, within less than a week, I found myself on the 3rd floor of Memorial Sloan Kettering, in Manhattan, in a room full of people represented by every state and from around the world…people in pain, people suffering.” Laurence says he was handed a thick manual of how to deal with the pain, although he hadn’t really been experiencing any. He said it just hit him, that his time might come…he had something within him that could potentially steal his life. Days later, however, he did get a promising prognosis from his doctor there who suggested surgery.
A few weeks later the Marlboro resident had what’s known as “whipple” surgery, and despite complications – a detached hepatic artery and additional surgeries – Laurence pulled through. For nearly 29 days, it was his experience with the nurses that made quite an impact on this father of two young sons. As a survivor, Laurence says many people don’t realize the emotional impact and mental state that this experience can have on a patient. “The nurses made me feel loved, they made me a priority in their lives. They, along with my wife Michele and my mother-in-law, helped me survive,” Laurence shares. He stresses that everyone should have an advocate in their lives, in case such an unforeseen [illness] event should take place. The former salesman says it’s a full-time job looking after a patient’s billing, testing, and documents.
Laurence, because of his experience, has decided that he, too, can make a difference. Currently enrolled in the Brookdale Community College Nursing Program, his plan is to become a patient care technician. He hopes that further training will lead him to a job as a nurse in a hospital. He feels the industry needs more compassion. “It’s my hope, and sense of urgency, that when others are too tired it won’t bother me. I won’t mind staying late or sitting with someone.” He adds, “When someone feels they are not alone, they can handle almost anything…hope is eternal. But when patients are alone, they feel abandoned and it is such a horrible feeling. I want to change that.”
Feldman’s message is this, “If for any reason your inner voice tells you that you aren’t feeling right and you just don’t feel like you, you need to move on it.” That philosophy saved his life, and now this cancer survivor is slowly returning to the things he enjoys: reading about history, swimming, Taekwon-Do, and working out. Still, his favorite hobby, as always, is his children.
*Laurence Feldman is scheduled for surgery on December 11th to repair a hernia as a result of previous surgeries.
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
The Empire Diner
FAVORITE MUSICAL GROUP
Aerosmith
FAVORITE MOVIE
The Natural
PET PEEVE
apathy…people who don’t care
THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
my great grandmother, my great grandfather, and J. Robert Oppenheimer
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