Doctor, former patient now colleagues in Detroit

[January 02, 2009]  DETROIT (AP) -- When Dr. Trevor Banka treats cancer patients alongside Dr. Michael Mott he is working with not only his mentor, but the physician who helped save his life. "I wanted to work next to Dr. Mott and I wanted to train with him," said Banka, a 28-year-old second-year oncology resident at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital. "We have a very special relationship." That relationship started in 1993 when a 12-year-old Banka was diagnosed with bone cancer in his right knee.

Mott and his former partner performed the surgery, removing the cancerous bone and replacing Banka's knee with a prosthetic.

Mott continued to treat his patient throughout high school, college, and even periodically while Banka attended medical school at Michigan State University.

Shortly after Banka joined Henry Ford, Mott transferred to the hospital. They now work together occasionally.

"He's very thorough and very meticulous," Banka said recently. "He has great technique. It's fun being on the other side of the stethoscope, being his patient and being his colleague."

It's not unusual for some patients to gravitate toward the medical field, Mott said. He said some of his former patients have gone on to become nurses or physical therapists, but Banka is the only one who moved into oncology.

"Every now and then, he would say, 'I might do this stuff,'" said Mott, 45. "It certainly takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and he had to come up with that all on his own. He's a remarkable individual in that regard."

Banka said Mott had a lot to do with his decision to become a doctor.

"Going through this, I saw the ability the physicians had with, not only saving my life, but to give my life back," he said.

"I was able to keep my leg," Banka said. "He would often tell me, 'Trevor, you have to treat this leg like you're a 60-year-old man.' He told me I could swim, golf and maybe bowl."

Those options weren't too appealing, so Banka took up biking and has made two cross-country trips.

"I had to balance his medical advice with being a young teen," he said.

[Associated Press; By COREY WILLIAMS]

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