Geoffrey Kurland

Geoffrey Kurland, M.D., thought a little something was wrong when he couldn't shake a cough and had some sharp chest pain.

But, ultra fit at age 41, he dismissed the thought of illness. He worked long hours as a pediatric lung specialist at a California hospital. Away from work, he was just as driven, training for a 100-mile endurance run through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

He suspected a broken rib. A chest X-ray showed something else: a large mass in his chest. Immediately, Dr. Kurland called his father, Leonard Kurland, a renowned epidemiology researcher at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, to tell him he was coming home for medical care.

Five days later, Dr. Kurland had his first appointment at Mayo Clinic. The following day he had a diagnosis — hairy cell leukemia, a rare blood cancer with an uncertain prognosis.

Dr. Kurland, who worked at a large medical center, was amazed by how quickly appointments, consultations, tests and surgery were scheduled. "Because the system is so efficient, it's extremely patient friendly," he says.

A little more than a week after discovering the mass, Dr. Kurland had surgery to remove his spleen — a first step to curtail the leukemia. That whirlwind week was the start of two years of illness, 1987 to 1989, where Dr. Kurland intimately learned a new perspective on healthcare: a doctor's life as a patient.

"I was used to being in charge of my life, not to mention the lives of my patients," says Dr. Kurland. Faced with a serious illness — and one he wasn't familiar with — he knew he couldn't direct his own care.

Thomas Habermann, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist, could. He had treated patients with hairy cell leukemia and was developing a clinical trial on a new treatment approach using Pentostatin with interferon. That novel treatment ultimately put Dr. Kurland's leukemia into remission.

But getting there wasn't easy. Dr. Kurland had three surgeries in 16 months. He suffered from debilitating chills and fevers that eventually was was found to be myocobacterium avium infection. Dr. Habermann worked closely with Mayo Clinic colleagues and consulted other medical experts to determine best treatment for the rare condition.

"Gifted physicians can get help and make it seem a natural part of the practice of medicine," says Dr. Kurland." I was lucky to have a doctor who called in the cavalry when needed."

During the ordeal, Dr. Kurland repeatedly learned that being a patient is no easier when you have a medical degree. He wrote a commentary on his insights for Newsweek magazine. A literary agent read it and encouraged him to write a memoir. "My Own Medicine, A Doctor's Life as a Patient" was published in 2002 and earned accolades in a New York Times review.

One year after remission, Dr. Kurland completed his 100-mile run. He has been in remission for 14 years and runs 40 miles a week. He works at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh where he relies on his hard-earned perspective as a patient to help care for children with lung disorders.