Over the course of a brilliant 21-year professional baseball career, Andre “The Hawk” Dawson was struck by his share of errant 90-mile-per-hour pitches. Yet he always remained fearless at home plate, hitting some 438 home runs.
Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the news he received last year: the Major League Baseball Hall Famer had prostate cancer. “I was scared to death,” said Dawson, who now works in the front office of the Miami Marlins. “But I tackled my cancer head on and did what was necessary to get better.” That meant going to see Professor Dipen J. Parekh, chair of urology and director of robotic surgery at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Parekh performed a minimally invasive prostatectomy, and now Dawson is cancer-free.
His triumph over cancer is one of many success stories that are being told in an advertising campaign highlighting UHealth – The University of Miami Health System. The UHealth Discovery Series, which features daily ads in The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald through the end of July, showcases the health system’s state-of-the-art clinical care and clinicians, well-known centers of excellence and lesser-known specialties, the promise of biomedical research, and heartening stories that reflect UHealth’s compassion and impact on patients’ lives and the community. To see some of the ads, click here, or visit the new UHealth Discovery Series website.
If you or a family member have had a positive experience with UHealth, UM invites you to share your story. It may be a UHealth representative who helped you schedule an appointment, a compassionate physician who took the time to explain test results and review treatment options, or a nurse who turned a routine screening into an enjoyable encounter. Please send your story to [email protected].
“Each and every one of us should take pride in the lifesaving work that occurs at UHealth every day,” Pascal J. Goldschmidt, senior vice president for medical affairs, dean of the Miller School, and CEO of UHealth, wrote in a recent letter to medical campus faculty and staff. “We are delighted that, through this campaign, we will have an opportunity to recognize many of the programs and people who represent us so well.”
About UHealth
Powered by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s groundbreaking research, UHealth has more than 1,100 doctors representing more than 100 medical subspecialties. Approximately 400 UHealth physicians are honored in regional and national rankings, including Best Doctors, Top Doctors, and Super Doctors. Visit findaumdoc.com for more information.
You can save between $5 and $25 in copays each time you visit your primary care physician or specialist just by using a UM provider. If you need to be hospitalized or require surgery, the savings increase.
To schedule an appointment with a UHealth physician, call UHealth Connect at 305-243-CARE (2273).