True Stories:

Harry Freestone

Harry had his surgery on April, 7 2004 and left the hospital two days later, on April 9.

When Dr. Harry Freestone first heard the diagnosis it nearly knocked him off his feet – but not for long. “I’d actually read about UVa’s da Vinci^® surgery a few weeks before I was diagnosed with prostate cancer so I called them.” A month later, the 77-year old retired engineer had the innovative surgery and was walking a week after that. Six weeks later he was running again and today he’s up to 10 miles a day. “When I first woke up after the operation, they tell me I said ‘I don’t have prostate cancer anymore.’ For me, that was the real attraction, the fact that once the surgery is done, you’re done.” Harry also liked the fact that the minimally invasive procedure meant a faster recovery with less risk of infection and complications. “I’m so much better than I was, even before I knew I had prostate cancer. Those feelings of urgency I’d been experiencing were totally gone.”