When local attorney Hilton Conger was diagnosed with prostate cancer he weighed all available treatment options carefully.
When he showed up in Dr. Quinton Cancel’s (M.D., Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; General Surgery Internship, Duke University Medical Center; Urological Surgery Residency, Duke University Medical Center; Member, American Urological Association) office at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Cancel was somewhat astonished.
“I was really surprised to see him in my office,” Cancel said of his first meeting with Conger. “He had a record from Vanderbilt, where he was diagnosed in 2009.
“I looked at all his charts and couldn’t figure out what he was doing here, because he was in the Vanderbilt system, had been diagnosed by a Vanderbilt doctor, and counseled on surgery.” Cancel continued. “Not many patients leave Vanderbilt to be treated at a smaller hospital.”
According to Conger, several factors affected his decision to be treated at Cookeville Regional, including three phone calls from local people who had been pleased with their experience at the hospital.
“I had looked at all the other treatment options available,” Conger said, “I got three phone calls, one from a local doctor who had been treated by Dr. Cancel. All three said that I needed to get over there and see this guy. I was so impressed that we set up the surgery that day and began to prepare.
There was nothing wrong with Vanderbilt, but Cookeville Regional had a personal, hometown atmosphere, and was close to home. I just felt good about it going in.”
“He had initially chosen a watchful waiting strategy with his condition,” Cancel said of Conger’s method of dealing with the condition. “After getting a surveillance biopsy back that showed an upgrade of his cancer, however, it was time to make a decision about treatment.”
That is when the choice was made to allow Dr. Cancel and his daVinci robot to perform the procedure.
According to the daVinci robotics website “da Vinci Prostatectomy is the #1 choice for treatment of localized prostate cancer in the United States.
“Thanks to a breakthrough surgical technology, surgeons now widely offer a minimally invasive option for prostatectomy, the da Vinci Prostatectomy.
“Imagine major surgery performed through the smallest of incisions. Imagine having the benefits of a definitive treatment but with the potential for significantly less pain, a shorter hospital stay, faster return to normal daily activities – as well as the potential for better clinical outcomes.
“It is important to know that da Vinci Surgery does not place a robot at the controls; your surgeon is controlling every aspect of the surgery with the assistance of the da Vinci robotic platform.”
Conger said that the attitude of the staff, the proximity to home, and the relatively simple (compared to previous methods) robotic procedure all contributed tohis decision to have  Cancel perform the procedure.
“Dr. Cancel  exuded an air of confidence that made me feel comfortable, said Conger. “We had been dealing with this for almost 18 months. I had carefully considered all the options out there, and this was by far the most attractive. I felt very little pain, only a little soreness. I went home on Thursday and went back to the office on Monday.
“I worked mostly from home the first week, but the second week I kept regular office hours. People couldn’t believe it. I played a few holes of golf three weeks after the surgery, which was admittedly well before my doctor released me for any such activity, but I felt great.”
According to Cancel, recovery is much more pallatable than older sugery methods.
“The old-fashioned way the patient is in the hospital for at least a couple of days, typically,” the doctor said. “The catheter comes out in about two weeks. The blood loss is significant, and the patient often needs a blood transfusion. You also won’t be doing much of anything for 4-6 weeks after the surgery.”
“I’m very happy with the results. The facility is remarkable, and the equipment is the same used at Vanderbilt, Conger added. “Given the choice  between Cookeville and Nashville, it wasn’t much of a choice,”