Dear editor,Regarding the radiologist who has recently come under fire at SJGH in Comox, this is a man that I personally had to the honour to work closely with for many years.This man has been described in the newspapers as “Well respected by his peers.” There is a reason for this respect. He earned it!This radiologist always cared more about the quality of the study than the number of studies we, in Diagnostic Imaging, could do. He always put the patients’ best interests ahead of everything else.I personally worked with or observed him in many modalities such as X-ray, mammography, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, and echocardiography. I watched him pore over mammograms, magnifying glass in hand, looking for the tiniest inconsistencies, for hours at a time. I saw him spend whatever time he felt was needed for a patient, searching for their individual problems.He took the time to listen to the diagnostic imaging staff about our concerns when we felt that another test would be better for diagnosing the problem with a particular patient; he would then be sure the patient got that test as well.Many lives were saved over the years by this man’s devotion to his patients! He cared about the patients.Is anyone aware that for many, many years, he was only one out of two radiologists in the Comox Valley? And that he was on-call every second week for all of those years?Only someone who has been on-call 24/7 at a hospital can possibly realize just how exhausting this can be. This is just an example of his devotion to this community.I left my position at SJGH several years ago for many reasons. If I had stayed, it would have been because of Dr. Zanbilowicz. I respected him and valued our working relationship.I learned a lot from him; he was always a willing teacher. He expected the best from the staff there and he got it. We all worked hard for him and the patients, and he was the one person who would recognize this hard work and give us much-valued feedback so we might learn from this also.He gave us respect in return. It was this respect from him that made it difficult to leave SJGH.But in the end, the pros outweighed the cons and I chose to leave. My only regret was that I lost this great working relationship with a radiologist whose opinion I valued and trusted. I would trust this man with my own life and that of my loved ones.To the lady who saw fit to have her picture and her story splashed across the front page of the newspaper — yes, it sounds like you had a difficult time getting your cancer diagnosed.But you cannot and should not blame Dr. Zanbilowicz for this.Did you know that a percentage of cancers cannot be seen on mammography? Prior to 2009, SJGH did not even have digital mammography, making them even harder to find.“Suspicious” means we are not sure if there is anything there, let’s do further testing to see. Did you also know that a percentage of cancers cannot be seen on ultrasound as well? And some cannot be seen on either test!This is unfortunate, to say the least, but the companies that make this equipment are constantly striving to make it more sensitive. As technology improves, so do diagnoses.I think it is very unfair of you to blame this good man for your problems. Did you also know that mistakes get made all the time by people at hospitals? I don’t think you will find a staff member at any hospital who can claim to have never made a mistake that may have affected a patient’s outcome in some way.I, for one, was certainly not perfect; I know I made my share. But we learn from them and try not to repeat them. We are human, after all.Name withheld by requestEditor’s note: The writer cannot be identified due to a clause in the contract with St. Joseph’s General Hospital. We present it as a perspective from a hospital insider who knows Dr. Jose Zanbilowicz well.

Comox Valley Record