"Mostly, I wanted the services of an executive medicine practice because I don’t have time to wait to see a doctor,” Long says. “I want to get in as soon as I get there so I can get back to work. But i also knew I had reached a stage in life where I needed to pay attention to my health because I have a family and an entire company counting on me.”
After an initial consultation, Mike Long decided to join. These people were clearly different. As a part of his comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Scott Yates learned everything about Long’s medical history and among other things, he recommended a colonoscopy. Even though a prior physician told Long it wasn’t necessary, he decided to have the colonoscopy which revealed a stage 3 colon cancer.
“There’s no way to ever be prepared to hear that you have cancer,” Long says. “I had no idea what to do, but Dr. Yates did. Before I was awake from my colonoscopy, he had scheduled a CT scan for the same day. He arranged everything for me – the oncologist, the surgeon, the follow-up care, and chemotherapy. But just as important, he came to see me every day for a month in the hospital and came to follow-up appointments with my oncologist.
I had a serious complication from the first surgery and had to have another. Dr. Yates stayed in the hospital for 16 hours that day and night. He was in the operating room during the surgery. He was in the recovery room when I woke up, and one of his office staff members was waiting with my wife. Later, he’d go to most of my follow-up appointments with me. He said his job was to be sure that everyone was ‘on the same page of the hymnal.’ He was with me during my chemotherapy treatments and his office staff even decorated my car to celebrate my last treatment.”
Although Long’s surgery was successful, he has experienced several complications. On Christmas Day, he noticed his arm was beginning to swell. He didn’t want to bother Dr. Yates, even though he knew he could call any day and at any hour.
“I finally decided I’d better call before we left on vacation,” Long says. “I tried to tell him it could wait, but Dr. Yates insisted on seeing me because he was concerned about a blood clot. He was with his family at the time and drove with them to meet me at a Sonic. He decided I needed to get to a hospital. Within an hour, I was at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano having a sonogram on my arm on Christmas Day! He had arranged everything – all while his family was waiting for him in the car. I was blown away he would go to all that trouble during the holidays, but he told me he’d rather spend a couple of hours on Christmas day than go to a funeral on New Year’s. These doctors are passionate about their patients’ health – they really care.”
In this practice, you have 24/7 cell phone access to your personal physician, same-day appointments, and no waiting to be seen. House calls and referral when needed to the best medical specialists in the world. Your visit is complete only when all of your questions and concerns have been answered and addressed.
A year after his cancer surgery, Long was back running his company and is comfortable that his health is in the best of hands. “What is that worth to me? You can’t put a price on that. Dr. Yates wants to make sure I’m around for my wife, children, five grandchildren and 400 employees.”
Mike Long