Dave Zeman, M.D., a Valley orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulders and knees, was planning a 240-mile walking pilgrimage along Spain’s Camino de Santiago when one day in March 2023 a medical assistant told him he had the tell-tale yellowing skin that indicated jaundice, a common symptom of pancreatic cancer.
A hospital scan confirmed a diagnosis of an inoperable advanced-stage pancreatic tumor that had spread to Dr. Zeman’s liver. As a longtime Valley physician, Dr. Zeman had his pick of where he wanted to be treated. Colleagues and patients recommended he see Erkut Borazanci, M.D., the medical director of the Oncology Research Division of HonorHealth Research Institute.
“I’m in the medical business, and I have options for anything that I want, medically. I had more of a buyer’s eye, so to speak. I knew what to look for,” said Dr. Zeman, 70, who chose Dr. Borazanci because of his personable manner and reputation for competence. “They (the Research Institute) backed it up with their authenticity and their approach.”
Dr. Zeman was placed on a clinical trial for a three-drug treatment of nab-paclitaxel, cisplatin and gemcitabine, plus a ketogenic diet, which replaces carbohydrates with fats to burn for energy.
Scans show no detectable cancer
Within a few months, Dr. Zeman showed a remarkable response with scans showing no detectable tumors. He was placed on an oral drug regimen so he could continue his plans to hike the Camino de Santiago with his son, Brian.
The Camino de Santiago — the Way of St. James — is actually a collection of dozens of routes that start in Portugal, France and Spain. All end at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern coastal Spanish city of Galicia, believed to be the resting place of St. James the Great, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles.
Begun by medieval Christians in the 9
th
century, the routes annually attract more than 200,000 hikers from around the world. It has become a major spiritual path, a retreat for spiritual growth, that along with Rome and Jerusalem is one of the three “great pilgrimages of Christendom.”
“It was a little bit of a struggle,” said Dr. Zeman, the first team physician for the Arizona Diamondbacks and a former team doctor during MLB spring training for the San Francisco Giants. He and his son chose the Camino Primitivo, or original route, which starts in Oviedo, Spain. They covered 240 miles in 15 days, walking every day, often 15 or more miles a day.
Oxygen levels tripled
When Dr. Zeman returned from his pilgrimage, tests showed his oxygen levels had nearly tripled. He knows there is as yet no cure for pancreatic cancer, but he believes his pilgrimage, and his faith, helped his body recover from the cancer.
“It (faith) has played a huge part. I’ve always had a strong faith, which has helped me through this. I’ve had so many people praying for me. It’s also made me not fear the outcome,” he said. “I actually pray for my family more than anything.”
Dr. Zeman, who married his high school sweet heart, Maryellen, and has six children and 15 grandchildren, has good quality of life and continues to work as a surgeon, despite a recent minor return of his cancer. Since December, he restarted his three-drug treatment and remains on the keto diet. His tumors have since shrunk.
Dr. Zeman describes his experience with the Dr. Borazanci and the Institute as “wonderful … I can’t recommend them enough. I think it’s been great. I’ve been very pleased.”
