{"id":9605,"date":"2023-08-14T17:08:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9605"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:39:16","slug":"patient-story-building-confidence-together-samaritan-health-services","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/patient-story-building-confidence-together-samaritan-health-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Confidence Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Surviving Prostate Cancer Started With Overcoming Fear<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cI\u2019ve gotta be there for them, I have to stay alive.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Rik Savering<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Surviving Prostate Cancer Started With Overcoming Fear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rik Savering, 61, of Tidewater, remembers the morning he was scheduled for robotic\u2011assisted surgery at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was March of 2020 and Savering had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, a disease that affects 1 in 8 men in the U.S. Removing the prostate entirely would give Savering the best chance for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savering often uses humor to deal with the stress and pressure he\u2019s feeling. But with this diagnosis, underneath the facade, he became consumed by what ifs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if they couldn\u2019t remove all the cancer? What I become incontinent? What if I lose erectile function?  I was scared to death,\u201d Savering said.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Surgeon Layron Long, MD, of Samaritan Urology, has performed hundreds of prostate surgeries. While this case may have been routine for Dr. Long, there is nothing mundane about a patient\u2019s fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A part of healing goes beyond surgery or medicine. That\u2019s why Dr. Long makes a point of getting to know each patient beyond the diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a preoperative meeting, Dr. Long learned that Savering was a keyboardist who had performed extensively on the East Coast in the 1980s and even opened for musical acts like R.E.M., The Kinks and Cyndi Lauper. The two soon discovered that during his fellowship, Dr. Long had seen Savering\u2019s band in concert in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConnecting with people on another frequency solidifies our understanding,\u201d Dr. Long said. \u201cI use these points of levity when we\u2019re talking about something serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat if they couldn\u2019t remove all the cancer? What if I become incontinent? I was scared to death.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Rik Savering<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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And in their case, sometimes people just vibe. Savering was comforted when he learned that Dr. Long is also a musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, we don\u2019t have to do this (surgery) today,\u201d Dr. Long told Savering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Dr. Long put the decision in his patient\u2019s hands, it gave Savering a sense of control. He thought of his three children and his partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotta be there for them,\u201d he decided. \u201cI have to stay alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a successful surgery, both Savering and Dr. Long agreed, the outcome could not have been better. The cancer was successfully removed and, after recovering from surgery, he has regained full continence and erectile function.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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His cancer was detected early through routine screening. Because there are no early symptoms of prostate cancer, the disease was first suspected when Savering had elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (or PSA). Then, the cancer was confirmed through an ultrasound-guided biopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Savering is relatively young and in good health, Dr. Long recommended surgery to remove the prostate and the cancer. While there are risks with surgery, more than 93% of men regain continence control within a year and erectile function for most men returns within two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a cancer survivor, Savering is once again composing and recording music in his garage studio. It\u2019s a step back from the stages he once rocked when his band Not Shakespeare opened for some of the top rock acts of the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was an exciting time,\u201d Savering recalled. \u201cBut I\u2019m not 25 years old anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI have an overall sense of gratitude, I\u2019m just so thankful.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Rik Savering<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Savering was able to easily maintain follow up visits close to home with Dr. Long at the urology clinic in Newport \u2013 helping ensure he was on the path to a successful recovery. Now, two years after his surgery, Savering is a source of confidence for others who face a prostate cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he is sharing his story because he remembers what it was like for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like being on a roller coaster,\u201d he said. \u201cI went from not knowing and being scared, to being optimistic then fatalistic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recovery has taught him to slow down, not to get frustrated and to appreciate life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have an overall sense of gratitude,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just so thankful I got through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Early Detection Is Important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, affecting roughly 15 percent in the U.S.  At highest risk are men over the age 65, African American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer. Early detection can result in a 90 to 95 percent cure rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn About Screening <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Find Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Man to Man cancer support group provides a space for men to discuss the physical and emotional aspects of this disease. Join at any time, no matter where you are in your treatment. The group offers support, guest speakers, information sharing and coping strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn About the Men’s Cancer Support Group<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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\"Building<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early detection of prostate cancer and confidence in his care team helped Tidewater resident Rik Savering overcome fear of treatment and make a full recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10994,"parent":9577,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":true,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9605","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70009,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9605\/revisions\/70009"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}