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Mike Maita
Husband and Cancer Survivor
Hamilton, NJ
For Mike Maita, a 42-year-old resident of Hamilton, NJ, a routine visit to his family doctor for some allergy problems resulted in something more.
Mike’s doctor saw something suspicious from a routine x-ray and recommended a CT scan to rule out potential problems. The results were worrisome. The CT scan confirmed a spot in his lung and a biopsy revealed that Mike had cancer.
“When I heard I had cancer I just wanted to collapse,” said Maita. “Just hearing the word cancer is scary and lethal. I was numb.”
Mike and his wife Sheila, a nurse at Capital Health Regional Medical Center, met with a team of oncologists, surgeons and pulmonologists from the Regional Cancer Center at Capital Health. They gave them grim news. The cancer had metastasized to other areas in Mike’s body, including his brain.
The team discussed with them several different treatment options, including going to Fox Chase in Philadelphia. Mike also did some research on his own and ultimately chose to stay at Capital Health. “I already had a great group of physicians at Capital Health,” recalls Maita. “Why go anywhere else?”
Mike and Sheila discussed his course of treatment of radiation therapy, chemotherapy and then CyberKnife treatments with their team. Mike wanted to be as aggressive as he could to give himself the best chance.
Mike started out with CyberKnife treatments that ensured the most accurate targeting of radiation delivery to the tumors allowing for less trauma to healthy tissue and quicker recovery time. Traditional radiation and chemotherapy followed after that.
“I was really fortunate that Capital Health offered CyberKnife,” said Maita. “I wanted to get the best that I could and with CyberKnife, I did. I could continue to function after each treatment.”
Maita had several CyberKnife treatments under the direction of Dr. John Lipani, director of Neurosurgical Oncology and surgical director of CyberKnife Radiosurgery and Dr. Shirnett Williamson, medical director of Radiation Oncology Services at Capital Health.
“It was far from easy for Sheila and me,” said Maita. “It helps that everyone has been so wonderful to us; Dr. Lipani is professional and intelligent, but still a human being with compassion.”
Today, Mike spends his time volunteering at the Regional Cancer Center at Capital Health to help others with cancer. “Every day is a gift to enjoy,” he says, “Faith, family and an amazing team of compassionate medical professionals is the key to living with cancer.