When the doctor becomes the patient

This is one of a series of stories about the Victoria Hospitals Foundation鈥檚 You Are Vital campaign.

Dr. Paul Whelan, a urologist and executive medical director of the Island Health Surgical Program, has treated countless patients in a stellar career.

Becoming a patient himself isn鈥檛 something he was planning for.

鈥淭his [past] summer, I found out I had brain cancer and suddenly I was the one who needed care,鈥� said Whelan, who is in his early 60s.

Until his diagnosis, he was exercising regularly and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.

鈥淲hen you are active and healthy, you feel as though you could live forever,鈥� Whelan said. 鈥淎fter I received news that two of my friends had cancer, I started training for a 100-kilometre bike race in their honour.鈥�

He said he felt 鈥渟trong and proud鈥� after getting to 96 km one day during his August training.

鈥淏ut the very next day, I collapsed on a golf course.鈥�

He was taken to the emergency department at Royal Jubilee Hospital.

They quickly ruled out a cardiac problem, Whelan said. 鈥淏ut CT and MRI scans identified what looked like a tumour in聽my brain.

鈥淭hey scheduled a brain biopsy.鈥�

He said that Dr. Steve Hentschel, head of neurosurgery, was sensitive but direct in delivering the news to him.

鈥淚 was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumour that advances fast,鈥� Whelan said. 鈥淚mmediately, I knew the significance and gravity of what he was telling me.

鈥淚 have no doubt it was hard for Steve, too. Not only was I his boss, this would affect my life.鈥�

It turned out that his collapse had nothing to do with the tumour聽and was triggered by something else. But if he hadn鈥檛 collapsed, the tumour wouldn鈥檛 have been found when it was, he said.

Whelan is relating his experience as a patient to bring attention to the Victoria Hospital Foundation鈥檚 You Are Vital campaign. The campaign goal is to raise $3.5 million by March to allow the foundation to buy more than 100 pieces of equipment for 11 hospital areas.

鈥淓quipment alerts us to a problem that our care teams can remedy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat is why I am so fortunate to work with the Victoria Hospitals Foundation to ensure we have the equipment our teams need to do their best work.

鈥淚 have supported the work of the foundation for many years and have been grateful to our community for their generosity to our hospitals.鈥�

Whelan said his situation really brought the foundation鈥檚 work home.

鈥淣ow, especially, I am grateful to the donors who come together to support excellent health care on Vancouver Island.鈥�

When assessing the possible treatments for his condition, Whelan knew he wanted the most aggressive approach 鈥� removal of the tumour. That would require a three-hour surgery.

鈥淲hen I got into the operating room at Victoria General Hospital, everyone was so nervous,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here were nurses and doctors I work with every day, my colleagues.

鈥淚 wanted the team to be calm, I wanted to be calm and the only way we could find calm was through humour.鈥�

Whelan said he was able to share a pre-surgery laugh with Hentschel, anesthesiologist Dr.聽Tom Ruta and the nurses.

鈥淚t was very strange to reverse the roles and be a patient in the operating room I work in every day.鈥�

Hentschel called Whelan 鈥渁n exceptional colleague鈥� and said he is appreciative that neurosurgery has advanced the way it has over the past 20 years.

鈥淭wo decades ago, we would have had to operate blind and search for the tumour,鈥� he said. 鈥淣owadays, we can know precisely where it is, which is particularly helpful in cases like Paul鈥檚, since his tumour wasn鈥檛 easy to access.

鈥淲e are grateful this technology allowed us to give him the best chance at recovery.鈥�

Whelan said he was well aware of the risks posed by the surgery 鈥� brain fluid, infection, vision loss, stroke 鈥� but the operation went well. He was full of praise for Hentschel and Ruta.

鈥淚 am here today because of them, accurate diagnoses and skilled decision-making.鈥�

Whelan said he is ready for the next step.

鈥淲hether or not my health journey is over, that鈥檚 a story for my next MRI scan to tell,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or now, I am down to one job 鈥� getting better.鈥�

Whelan said he is undergoing radiation and steroid treatment, and finds it frightening.

鈥淒ue to side-effects, I have short-term memory loss, and that makes you really humble because you realize how fragile life is. Cherish moments with loved ones and have these moments more often. Don鈥檛 wait for a medical emergency to realize what鈥檚 precious.鈥�

He said he believes what happened to him came about for a reason.

鈥淢y story could be yours, and without extraordinary diagnostic and surgical equipment, I would not be here to tell it,鈥� Whelan said.

鈥淔unding advanced equipment for our hospitals will save lives. I know this because it is technology that lets my medical team know what is going on inside their patients right now. You are vital to ensuring our teams have access to this technology.

鈥淟ast summer, I thought I was training for a bike ride. I had no idea I was training for the ride of my life.鈥�

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