I landed in Dr. Flis' office because the ENT doctor in his office that my husband had gone to (who he respects greatly, as well) was on vacation when I had an emergency. As a retired medical reporter (ABC Radio in LA for 23 years), I now realize that was about the luckiest thing in the world, as it turned out that Dr. Flis had a specialty in neck cancers. I had been bitten on the face by what we think was a vicious spider...with my face swelling up like a balloon and a strange lump developing on the right side of my neck. We all thought both areas of swelling were a result of the spider bite...but when my face returned to normal, the lump on my neck did not. Dr. Flis very calmly said he wasn't ready to sign off and very gently inserted a tiny camera down my nose and discovered a lesion at the base of my tongue that turned out to be a CURABLE form of lymphoma that "popped out" as a neck lump because the spider bite overloaded my lymph system --which, thankfully, served as an early warning system--Stage 2, with NO outward symptoms before the lump appeared. As a result of Dr. Flis' excellent instincts to persue the mystery of why this lump had suddenly appeared and remained-- and with his additional steps to accurately diagnosed EXACTLY which of some 30 forms of lymphoma I had-- I started treatment right away, with fewer chemo sessions than a stage 3, or 4, plus 18 days of radiation. Five months later, I was out the other end of medical treatment and in "total remission." Dr. Flis guided me to a wonderful oncologist that was the perfect fit. Both Dr. Flis and Dr. Lucas filled me with confidence that I could come through this in good shape, with many healthy years ahead. I cannot express how grateful I am for Dr. Flis care, consideration, and THOROUGHNESS of diagnosis and treatment. He saved my life by catching this blood cancer early and, as you might imagine, has my highest recommendation.
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