Edmund Goldwag, Mary Goldwag, and Armine Smith

00:00 Have a great conversation.

00:03 My name is Dexter. I mean Smith. I'm 41 years old. Today is May 8th 2018, and we're at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington DC. And I am one of the treating Physicians for mister goldwag.

00:24 My name is Edmund goldwag. I'm 85.

00:28 And today is May 8th 2018, and this recording is being done at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

00:39 And you're the patient the patient. My name is Mary goldwag. I'm 74 years old about to turn 75 in August. Today's date is May 8th 2018. I'm at Sibley Memorial Hospital Washington DC my relationship to my partner is his wife and with dr. Smith a friend. So we wanted to chat today a little bit a little bit about your experiences about in life in and then being a patient and you know being friends with me and undergoing oldest.

01:25 Advantage Care that she had we got each other through so that you know, I we've spoken before in my office about things that are related to your disease and cancer Etc. But I don't remember it kind of even like the beginning of the story. Can you can you go all the way back and kind of tell me how it all started?

01:52 I'm trying to record like I believe the I was.

01:56 In your office for a this is about two years ago for radio ordinary Urology exam and then they asked for a specimen.

02:11 And I couldn't I couldn't produce the specimen and it would suggested I go down to the emergency room and they would see what they could do. And apparently I had the original track was was clogged and they had to use a catheter on me to whip the open it up and get the specimen. I think believe that was the first Contact I had with you and and the Shipley Hospital prior to that. I was a patient of dr. Paulo here for prostate cancer, and I still am and but I think that was our first Contact and did you have in here or did you have it in Virginia 44 treatments of radiation at this Hospital?

03:11 The supervision of dr. Ruth Eckerd Hall in the DeVille. Yeah, so so yeah that part I remember and then I remember you every time you came with your wife, which was wonderful. Have you met me when things started to decline and you were like this very active person who went from cruise to cruise and had a wonderful quality of life. And then we met and things went downhill really frustrating thing was I've been very lucky in life. I had a healthy life very few medical incidents and when I got diagnosed with the with the prostate cancer in the October of 2015, it was a real kick in the head.

04:12 I mean it was a shock and from then on that they didn't my life has been centered around Medical Care.

04:21 Diagnosed because that was way before me how did you get diagnosed with frosting that diagnosis was made by dr. Wang neurologist over at Alexandria Hospital and I believe I saw him for the first time.

04:42 Because there was blood in the urine and the my general practitioner doctors Lukowski recommended that I see this urologist which was the wrong at Alexandria Hospital and he did a cystoscopy on me and

05:04 Told me that they they would cancer cells.

05:07 And that was when the first diagnosis of cancer at first, I thought it was bladder cancer, but then when when they test results came back, it was clear. It was prostate cancer, but it has grown into the bladder and it was growing very quickly. So all of the people who say prostate cancer grows slowly and die of something else before you die of that not necessarily. So because in January of that year is a PSA number was down around Zero by October. It was 33.

05:46 Do you know you had Advanced stage cancer first diagnosed through the very healthy guy before that then you get this diagnosis send workout every morning morning in the house hop out of the bed and onto the treadmill 30 minutes on the treadmill than weight lifting and then bending and stretching and then in the afternoon, we have an indoor pool where we live in the condominium and I would go there and swim a mile and this was 7 days a week this program. So that was 2015 and you were 82 and this whole exercise program came through a screeching hole.

06:38 But it's resuming now. Yes, it has just this morning. I jumped out of bed and get on the treadmill 30 minutes 4.0 30 minutes. They'll keep you breathless when I get home later today. I'll do my some of the weight lifting and bending and stretching went down the start of the swimming yet. I'm still concerned about the stoma unglue the stoma bag. We going to fix that pool. We'll figure something out for you.

07:21 So how so I mean I've been thinking this couple of days because I've been kind of wondering about how we going to talk a little bit about your experiences. So I've been kind of focusing more on the psychosocial, you know aspect of this whole cancer diagnosis. So, how do you make you feel?

07:38 Well, I was shocked that I got cancer because I was living such a healthy lifestyle. I was watching my diet. I was exercising those that I was stunned by it and after the initial radiation treatments that I have 44 of them under the supervision of dr. Deville things seem to be normal again. I went back pretty much to a regular lifestyle again.

08:11 But then what happened is that I started seeing blood again in the urine and there was that point in time that I contacted your office chair for your radiation treatments. You probably went on the cruise right? Because when you came to see me you just came from the cruise.

08:33 324 cruises a year 324 Chris is a year. I'm not sure. But any how we do?

08:48 Yes, we can we just come back from a cruise after we got back that he had mentioned it before but before we went on the cruise, it started noticing the blood again. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to stop the cruise is no it's not great. It was just it was there and had to be dealt with it was not the serious didn't didn't appear serious to me and your son is a physician and I mean that you have other children in San Diego and she was in the medical medical billing us out there kosher pay in San Diego.

09:48 They talked to him on the phone a few times. The how involved was the rest of the family for you old where the rest of the family for you throughout this whole involved how involved were they?

10:01 Well, I was certainly concerned but there was you know, this is geographic difference between San Diego and where we are so but my son's children are both grown. In fact, one of them is med school in Virginia and he lives in Virginia Beach. So we see him more frequently than I see my daughter but them in touch with them several times a week. They test reports in the films and I don't know what they're called now that the disks or whatever so he can see and understand in ways that Melanie our daughter couldn't a real good overview of what was going on.

10:59 Cuz one of his friends is a fairly well-known medical oncologist in the he was recently appointed headed to Blue Cross Blue Shield. That's a good connection to his neighbor and friend of ours who is a retired pediatric oncologist. His name is Jorge Gil. He said don't mess around with a notify the local hospital chain here go to a university hospital because that's where it is. They'll be up on the latest techniques and where information is exchanged first and best and so he is so is Stuart helped us find a doctor DeVille actually and he was the one who had a

11:59 The doctor power and cook

12:12 Tell me more would you have in mind when you were thinking when you owe me what leads up to the surgery that I had on February one? I was in the hospital for four days prior to it with the again with the bleeding had increased significantly and I was on receiving blood transfusions. And at this point I really got quite serious and one of the first things I did hear in the hospital at Sibley is they performed at nephroscopy on me with a connected tubes to my kidneys so that I could preserve the kidneys and it wouldn't cause any further deterioration and it was at this point where

13:12 I got into a very serious discussion with you regarding basically end-of-life and alternatives to what we could do. When did the alternative discussing how to word the death notice. I brought in the will and they have Financial pay papers and so forth so we can discuss them and I'd make sure we're each other's executor is and I can make sure that things would work out afterwards the way he wanted.

13:51 But it's about every day or so. We was getting more blood transfusions like a vampire more radiation another 10 day procedure to focus on the tumor in the bladder. And this was not a guarantee that it would kill the it was just to get his use it was it was a hope that it would work the next alternative that was proposed was surgery to remove the bladder and the prostate and other organs around the urethra and there's some of the lymph nodes.

14:35 In the area and it was at this point that I had a telephone call with George Gill who's on neighbor and he and I had a very serious conversation and he made a very strong case that I should go for the surgery that it was in good shape. I would survive the surgery I would do that. I hadn't still a healthy life ahead of me and I should go for it and could have as many as four years. He said as many as four years. Anyhow, I feel like right now I feel like a young man. It was based on that conversation with George that I then met with you and doctor gordone and Patrick.

15:35 We all had this conversation we decided to go for it. It was the very morning you were supposed to start radiation get ready for the day to remember and I wanted to kind of share my experience with you as a patient. So it's it's very interesting. So, you know, I think when you came to see me and things were kind of going downhill with the bleeding and not being able to urinate. I feel like he know it was kind of bit of a reality check for you because everything up to that point was so smooth right to get your radiation. You were still continue your life etcetera and now this bleeding and you know, I can really do a whole lot for you right? I was just seeing if you're gay put a catheter take a catheter out and then you call me Saturday.

16:35 Remember I came to me and you know, this really was interfering with your lifestyle. It's because it's like every time he'd come in and give you the same feeling you would look at me. Like I just can't believe they are in the headlights. We had the bleeding from the bladder. So I sent you to get the happy Berry, which was what is a 5 times a week or every day is the 4th of July. Okay, play bird a

17:35 Play with noon and leave there at about 4. It was basically it an hour and a half to two hours treatment, but food prep time and that it is the time at the end. He was 4 hours down there every day and that was for 59 treatments and then it went from all of June July and August in the beginning of September and that that give you like a little break right then it was okay and then start bleeding again, but the bottom line was there was no cessation of the bleeding bleeding continued. But you said later on when you were doing cystoscopy slit his bladder look really good as why was greater than his Frosty tumor grew back.

18:35 Are the same one revived?