“They were incredibly efficient, and everyone I encountered throughout my stay was very professional, cordial and welcoming.”
The diagnosis of kidney cancer is on the rise, with experts attributing this to the fact that imaging techniques such as CT scans are being used more often, leading to the incidental discovery of a cancer that usually doesn’t produce symptoms in its earlier stages. For Oceanport resident Thomas Noji, Ph.D., a 2023 visit to Monmouth Medical Center urologist Pierre Mendoza, M.D., for a second opinion on treatment for his benign enlarged prostate led to the discovery of a large right kidney tumor that was later determined to be cancerous.
“I wasn’t happy with the urologist that I was seeing and was recommended to get a second opinion from Dr. Mendoza,” Dr. Noji said. “I was really impressed with him – his examination was so much more thorough, and it was through the follow-up imaging he ordered that the mass was discovered.”
In November of 2023, Dr. Mendoza performed a robotic nephrectomy to remove Dr. Noji’s right kidney.
“Fortunately, his cancer was completely and safely resected and because the cancer was contained to his kidney, he required no follow-up chemotherapy or radiation treatment,” Dr. Mendoza said.
Following a one-night stay in the hospital, Dr. Noji said his recovery progressed quickly, noting that he was able to walk immediately and was driving within a week, and was able to quickly return to playing tennis. Married for 36 years to his wife Carola and with a daughter and son who were both Shore Regional High School valedictorians and today are doctoral candidates, he said he is enjoying a full quality of life and now sees Dr. Mendoza twice a year for surveillance visits.
Monmouth Medical Center’s Institute for Robotic Surgery, led by Dr. Mendoza as the Medical Director, offers an experienced team of surgeons utilizing the most advanced robotic systems available and the latest techniques in a host of surgical areas, including urology. Dr. Noji, a 70-year-old retired marine biologist who worked as a Division Leader for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and served as the director of NOAA’s James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, said he was very impressed with the level of advanced surgical expertise offered at Monmouth Medical Center.
“As someone with a science background and a son who is a PhD candidate in pancreatic cancer research at U Penn, as well as a number of relatives who worked for the National Institutes of Health including cancer research, I felt confident in choosing Dr. Mendoza and Monmouth Medical Center, my local hospital, for my surgery ,” he said. “They were incredibly efficient, and everyone I encountered throughout my stay was very professional, cordial and welcoming.”
Monmouth Medical Center’s acquisition of the region’s first robotic da Vinci Surgical System in 2006, followed by a second one several years later, further advanced its team of surgeons’ ability to treat diseases such as kidney cancer with a minimally invasive approach. Dr. Mendoza performed the first robotic partial nephrectomy in New Jersey on a patient with kidney cancer using advanced fluorescence technology.
Dr. Mendoza said this spring, Monmouth Medical Center will introduce the latest generation da Vinci Surgical Systems, the da Vinci 5, which offers enhanced precision and control in a wide range of surgical areas, including urology.
“This highly advanced robotic surgical system is used for a variety of urologic procedures, including nephrectomies,” he said. “In terms of our urologic surgery program, we are also proud to partner with the urologic oncology program at Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, with respect to clinical services, clinical research and educational activities.”
To learn more about oncology services at Monmouth Medical Center, call 844-CANCERNJ or 844-226-2376.