Robert James knew his unexpected cancer diagnosis would cause changes in his life, including finding a new home for the horses and mules he enjoys taking care of.
Thanks to expert care from Dr. Evan Glazer at Regional One Health Cancer Care, Robert is looking forward to getting back to normal sooner than he ever expected.
Dr. Glazer used his advanced expertise to perform a complex surgery to treat Robert’s cancer, and the results have Robert looking forward to a future filled with family and doing the things he loves.
When Robert James received a serious cancer diagnosis, he made the difficult decision to find a new home for the horses and mules that he loves taking care of.
“I knew I’d be dealing with this for a while,” he said. “I didn’t want anybody else having to take care of things for me while I was down.”
Now, thanks to Dr. Evan Glazer, a surgical oncologist at Regional One Health Cancer Care, the chance to return to the things he loves will come sooner than Robert expected. “I don’t think I’ll be down near as long as I thought. I never imagined I’d be doing this good,” he said. “When I get over this, I hope I can get some animals again and have something interesting to do.”
Robert’s cancer journey started unexpectedly.
He wasn’t experiencing symptoms, but went to his doctor to have a bump on his head removed. Tests came back showing it was cancerous.
A PET scan showed a mass on his gallbladder, and Robert, who lives in Missouri, was referred to a general surgeon nearby. “He said the surgery was just more than he could do,” Robert said. “After I heard that, I was very worried. It set my nerves on edge.”
The surgeon referred him to Dr. Glazer, three hours away in Memphis. As soon as Robert made the trip, he knew he was where he needed to be.
As an expert in gallbladder, liver and pancreatic cancers, surgical oncologist Evan Glazer can provide the most complex procedures. “It’s a privilege and honor that patients, families, and health care providers trust us to deliver care,” he said. “We are proud to offer complex care for patients in Memphis and patients from far away.”
“He’s an amazing doctor,” Robert said. “I felt much better after talking to him. You always think the worst, but after I talked to Dr. Glazer, he eased a lot of the pressure on my mind.”
Regional One Health Cancer Care offers the advanced resources and expertise needed to treat patients with complex diagnoses. Dr. Glazer, who specializes in gallbladder, liver and pancreatic cancer, is a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist who participates in national panels that establish treatment guidelines for pancreatic and liver cancers, giving him the additional insight and experience needed to offer latest options and surgical approaches.
He put that expertise to work for Robert.
Dr. Glazer noted patients with a gallbladder mass require a different approach than many cancer patients. “Unlike most cancers that we biopsy before we do too much, you can’t really biopsy it because you put a hole in the gallbladder, which creates a high risk of infection,” he said. “When we suspect a patient has gallbladder cancer, we typically do a pretty aggressive operation.”
Based on what he saw on the scans, Dr. Glazer concurred the mass on Robert’s gallbladder was likely cancerous. He recommended a radical cholecystectomy, which involves removing the gallbladder, a partial liver resection and bile duct resection, and removing lymph nodes.
It’s difficult news for patients to hear.
“We need to have a conversation with the patient that addresses all of the scenarios, and that can be fear-provoking,” Dr. Glazer said. “I don’t want to needlessly cause stress or anxiety, but I need to make sure the patient understands all of the reasonable things that can happen, good and bad – the logistics, the likely outcomes, the potential risks and complications, etc.”
Robert said Dr. Glazer and his nursing team provided exceptional care. “I don’t think I’ll be down near as long as I thought. I never imagined I’d be doing this good,” he said. “When I get over this, I hope I can get some animals again and have something interesting to do.”
Robert was grateful for Dr. Glazer’s straightforward, compassionate approach. “He explained everything he was going to do,” he said. “He told me he thought he could get all of the cancer, and he told me exactly how he was going to do it.”
Robert had surgery in December 2023, and pathology confirmed stage two cancer confined to his gallbladder. His margins came back clear, meaning all of the cancerous tissue was removed.
Robert said he is healing well. He is impressed not only with Dr. Glazer’s skill as a surgeon, but with the nursing team that cared for him during his hospital stay.
“You’ve got some of the most amazing nurses in the world. I’ve never been in a hospital where the nurses take care of you like they do,” he said. “They were nonstop; everything I needed. Not one of them ever got upset. They’re amazing.”
Now, Robert will complete chemotherapy at a clinic closer to his home. Once that is behind him, he looks forward to getting back to the active life he enjoyed before his cancer diagnosis.
He has four daughters and one son, plus a large group of grandkids and even great grandkids. He enjoys time with family, with the whole group gathering for holidays throughout the year.
He also looks forward to getting back to taking care of his property and animals. “I’ve got a little place, and I like getting out, messing around making gardens and working on the house,” he said. “I’ve had horses and mules for years, so I’ll look to getting back to that.”
Dr. Glazer said helping patients like Robert return to the life they love is why Regional One Health and University of Tennessee Health Science Center partnered to build a state-of-the-art oncology practice that improves access to advanced care for the Mid-South and beyond.
“It’s a privilege and honor that patients, families, and health care providers trust us to deliver care,” he said. “We are proud to offer complex care for patients in Memphis and patients from far away. We make it worth it for them to seek care here, because they get value from it.”