Personal Profiles
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Tom Sellers
For cancer executive, disease hits home
Tom Sellers is a man who does his homework. A senior executive for the American Cancer Society (ACS) when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998, he was already well acquainted with the cancer world through his work and the loss of his mother to the disease. That didn't stop him, however, from further analysis.
He made a "decision tree," charting out such information as his Gleason score (which rates the aggressiveness of the tumor) and comparing the benefits and risks of surgery or various types of radiation therapy. He turned to Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, conferring with specialist Anthony D'Amico, MD, and ultimately chose to undergo a nerve-sparing prostectomy by urologist Jerome Richie, MD.
The surgery involves removing the prostate gland while preserving nerves that control a man's other functions, with the goal of preventing incontinence and impotence: outcomes dreaded by most men facing this cancer. "I'm kind of an odd duck because I don't mind talking about this stuff," says the frank Sellers, 57, whose cancer required no other treatment and is now in remission.
It wasn't easy, though. The early days after his diagnosis were a blur for Sellers, a self-proclaimed information junkie. "My wife was the one taking notes," he says. He needed a catheter for several weeks after the surgery, and then had to wear pads while he regained his urinary health. Today, sex and pleasure are still possible, but not the same as before his surgery, admits Sellers, who is married to Terry Ann Lunt and has two adult daughters.
Lunt, also a healthcare executive, says she admires the way her husband stretches to meet a challenge. "Cancer is a family disease," she explains. "Tom and I did this in partnership, each of us drawing on our own strengths. He is very analytical and did most of the research, while I organized a support network." For example, the arrival of a friend every day for lunch while Sellers recovered was Lunt's handiwork.
Today, worries are not over for Sellers, Lunt, and their daughters. "We are grumpy for days before his PSA [prostate-specific antigen, a blood test that reveals prostate cancer] test every 6 months," says Lunt, adding that, "I still fret when Tom travels. The fear of loss is still there."
Familiar ground
"The cancer cause has always spoken to me," Sellers explains. "My family was devastated by the disease, and when the opportunity came along in 1995 to bring my leadership to the ACS, I knew it would be my life's passion. Once I became a cancer patient myself and later lost my father to cancer, the work was no longer theoretical."
Chief Financial Officer for the New England Division of the ACS, Sellers is also project manager for its new AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Center in Boston, a 48,000 square-foot facility that will provide free temporary lodging and support services to cancer patients and their families receiving treatment far from home. The project broke ground in March and is expected to open in fall 2008.
Not all men can face a prostate cancer diagnosis as openly as he did, Sellers knows. His advice to other men? "Don't be afraid. Know your risk factors. We now have excellent outcomes for surgical techniques and various types of radiation therapy. This is not a death sentence, nor is it a given that you will become incontinent or impotent." He also encourages men to discuss their treatment options with an oncologist who specializes in prostate cancer, and talk with other men in their shoes.
Sellers, who often speaks knowledgeably about health outcomes for others, enjoys two good ones himself. He is cancer-free, and his golf swing improved after surgery. "It's better not to swing too hard," he says.
– Christine Cleary
christine_cleary@dfci.harvard.edu
