Tony Ricciardi couldn’t possibly anticipate that the tiny bump he felt under his collarbone could mean that he had one year left to live. But after discovering that bump, Tony was diagnosed with Stage 3B lung cancer.
By the time I met him, four years after that diagnosis, he was full of life and cancer free. When all had seemed hopeless and doctors had no answers, it was the innovative and compassionate treatment at Stanford that ultimately restored his hope and cured his cancer.
Tony’s contagious spirit touched everyone who participated in his care. I feel lucky to have had the chance to meet him and share his story - which I do in the video above.
For a select group of critically ill patients, there is now hope - thanks to a newly available procedure - to correct ailing heart valves. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) offers patients with aortic stenosis, the most common type of valvular disease, an opportunity for minimally invasive treatment. The procedure is considered such a major breakthrough that Stanford cardiovascular surgeon Craig Miller, MD, calls it “a major medical paradigm shift, something to address an otherwise fatal disease in patients whom we once could offer nothing but supportive care and counseling.”
At 76, Gary Verwer represents a growing population of patients who have their lives back thanks to this new procedure. He is featured in the video above, as well as in a press release that notes that Stanford Hospital was the first facility in the Bay Area to be given the go-ahead by the FDA to use the Edwards Sapien transcatheter heart valve.
Updated 04-02-12: All Marilyn Antipuesto and Mavis Dzadey did that morning at Stanford Hospital was sing, but their singing is not what makes them great nurses. Watch the video to see the magic for yourself.
If you’re not a woman, I bet you know a few who you love. Heart disease, although typically viewed as a man’s disease, happens to be the number one killer of women. The disease affects women of all backgrounds and ages and, because symptoms show themselves differently in women than men, women are often misdiagnosed.
It became clear to us that most women don’t think that heart disease will affect them, but the statistics show otherwise. Women’s Heart Health at Stanford graciously collaborated with Liat Kobza, my colleague, and me to create this video.
We hope the video will spread far and wide, so please share this with all the women you love and help save lives.
…And we’ve been thankful to have him ever since. I met Harry Oberhelman, MD in 2009, and I’m happy to join the crowd in celebrating his 50-plus years of invaluable contributions to Stanford. My colleagues and I spent a little time with him recently to make this video and shine some Thanksgiving love his way.
In preparation for Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November, my colleague Liat Kobza and I recently set up a camera and asked six Stanford physicians to share their thoughts about the disease.
We were shocked by what we heard: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death (more than the top four cancer killers combined), and claims the lives of 1.3 million people each year.
What affected us most were not just the staggering numbers, but the fact that this disease gets so little attention.
Please help us share this message: Watch the video and pass it on.
