Tony Buccafori wasn’t supposed to get cancer.

The 60-year-old medical equipment installer was a vegetarian, ate a high-fiber diet and exercised regularly. But, cancer runs in his family -- his father and sister both died from the disease. Still, Tony ignored his doctor’s advice to get a colon cancer screening when he turned 50.

Things changed when Tony noticed a change in his bowel habits in early 1999. At his wife’s urging he saw a doctor and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Tony’s stage three tumor had spread to nearby lymph nodes and blood vessels. Surgeons performed a colon resection, and he underwent chemotherapy and radiation for several months afterward at Good Samaritan Hospital.

“I had five weeks of drastic treatment, a week or two of rest, then several months of chemo,” he says.

After seven months off, Tony went back to work. “My job requires that I travel a lot. It has taken longer than I expected to get back to normal. My treatment was pretty traumatic, so, I don’t have as much energy as I would like. But, I’m feeling pretty good. I started jogging again a few months ago.”

Although Tony’s surgery was in New York City, doctors there recommended Good Samaritan Hospital for his cancer treatment.

“Dr. Bardwaj, Dr. Bloom and the staff at Good Samaritan Hospital are incredibly competent and compassionate,” Tony says. “They were available to answer questions and reassure me anytime of the day or night. I think that’s pretty nice.”
“The staff was always positive and upbeat. Thanks to them, I never really worried about the outcome.”

“No one is really clairvoyant,” he says. “You never think you’re going to get cancer. But if you do, with the compassionate and caring staff at Good Samaritan Hospital, you have a fighting chance.”