Page 70 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2017

HEALTHY LIVING colorectal cancer
TREATING
COLORECTAL
CANCER
Dr. Joshua Tyler operates the surgical robot.
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Merit Health Biloxi
With March designated Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, Merit Health Biloxi and Joshua Tyler, M.D., want to spread the word about treatment advancements that include
state-of-the-art robotic surgery and small incisions. Tyler is one of only two physicians in Mississippi who are certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.
“If these cancers are found early, we’re really good at fixing them,” Tyler said. “We offer many different cutting- edge techniques such as the latest generation surgical robot paired with a robot-specific bed known as Table Motion — Merit was the first to use this in our region extending from Houston to Ocean Springs, which is pretty neat. We also tailor our treatment to the patient and the cancer, including some promising new techniques used mostly in Europe.”
The robot does what the surgeon tells it to do through hand and foot controls and 3-D vision. It’s minimally invasive surgery with an average patient stay of less than four days. At the Biloxi facility, the infection rate of five percent is far below the national average for colorectal surgery. “It’s incredible how small an incision we can make with the robot compared to open surgery,” Tyler said. “The robot allows me to be extremely precise, and often times millimeters matter in cancer surgery.”
Sixty percent of Tyler’s practice is treating colon and rectal cancer. One of his local success stories involves Steve Johnson — popularly known as Scuba Steve — who is now cancer free. Johnson’s colon cancer was discovered because of his back and stomach pain. Tyler notes that cases of colon and rectal cancer are increasing among people younger than 50, an unexplainable phenomena at this time.
“The main warning signs are changes in bowel habits and bleeding,” he says. “Don’t assume that bleeding is caused by hemorrhoids; talk to your doctor about a colonoscopy. The most common way colorectal cancer is missed is that people fear colonoscopies and don’t get them.”
Tyler, 35, joined the staff of Merit Health Biloxi in 2014. He speaks nationally about colon and rectal cancer and robotic surgery. He obtained his medical education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,
F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., followed by a residency in surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center, and a fellowship in colon, rectal and robotic surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 140,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year and 56,000 people will die.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Joshua Tyler, Melissa Reid, Shelbey McDaniel, Emmy Cheri, Angela Dauro and Crissy Hamilton.
Merit Health
150 Reynoir St., Biloxi 228.432.1571 www.MyMeritHealth.com www.cancer.org
70 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • March 2017
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