With a career on the line, Gil made his choice

The first indication of a problem came during a routine physical, when his primary care doctor detected that Gil was breathing irregularly. She referred him for imaging which revealed his lung cancer.

As he weighed his treatment options, Gil was reminded of a local news story he’d recently seen about the newly opened New York Proton Center in Manhattan. So he phoned and left a message for its Chief Medical Officer and internationally renowned lung cancer expert, Dr. Charles Simone—expecting the receptionist would call back a few days later to set up an appointment. But in fact, the call came that very night.

From Dr. Simone, himself.

“That was so impressive. My original surgeon had spent a grand total of about 10 minutes with me, then sent me on my way. But here was Dr. Simone, the head of the whole center, personally calling me at home. Completely unheard of.”

What struck Gil from the moment he arrived at the NYPC was that every interaction—with the front desk personnel, with the nursing staff, with Dr. Simone himself—was, in his words, “amazing from A to Z.” Even the other patients he encountered were noticeably upbeat, hardly characteristic of people facing a cancer diagnosis.

“Normally, when you sit in an oncologist’s office, everyone is getting bad news. It’s heartbreaking. But over at New York Proton Center, everybody’s happy and feeling great.”

Gil’s proton therapy lasted just one week. Other than the discomfort of lying on the hard treatment table—during which, per his request, they piped in Frank Sinatra music—the sessions were painless and the side-effects nonexistent. In fact, the disruption was so minimal that he actually continued performing on stage during his treatment.

Although Gil is enormously grateful for the care he received at the New York Proton Center, it’s a gratitude tinged with regret. His sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year earlier, but by the time she learned about proton therapy, it was no longer an option. Her disease was too advanced.

“She went through a year of radiation and chemo. She got sick, lost her hair, the whole bit. It’s God’s blessing that I discovered this advanced treatment, because I suffered zero. I wish she could have too.”