Local Urologist Who Leads Fight Against Prostate Cancer Now Has It Himself
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (WJZ) — A prominent local urologist who has led the fight against prostate cancer in Baltimore and around the country is now fighting the disease himself.
Dr. Sanford "Sandy" Siegel is the founder of Chesapeake Urology. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2017.
"I was certainly overwhelmed by the diagnosis, I knew that it was coming after I saw the MRI but still it took me an hour or two to get over that and realize that I have a family, I have a company, I have partners, I have a thousand employees all depending on me. It's not about me, it's about them, and I have to treat myself aggressively," Dr. Siegel said.
Dr. Siegel decided on a relatively new treatment, a hydrogel called Spaceoar.
"Anything that protects the rectum during radiation is important, and this gel was specifically created to create a wider space between the prostate and the rectum, and that is really, really important when you are delivering radiation therapy," Dr. Siegel said.
He said he is doing well and continues to speak out about a disease that is now hitting home.
"I just felt that now I have a bigger soapbox upon which to work, to raise funds, to advocate for and educate about prostate cancer," He said.
On September 22, 2019, WJZ will again be the sponsor of the 13th Annual Zero Prostate Run and Walk at Towson University.
Last year, the event raised over $900,000 for the fight against prostate cancer. This year, it has been renamed the Sanfrod J. Siegel Prostate Run and Walk.
"The prostate cancer has been life-changing, if anybody is going to get prostate cancer and be a spokesperson for it, let me be that person," Dr. Siegel said.
Chesapeake Urology now has 120 doctors around the country, each year more than 160,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer, with one in seven men expected to be diagnosed within their lifetime.
