Guatemalan doctor pioneers new method to detect cancer in US

mid last february Antonio Mendoza-Ladd, medical director of gastrointestinal endoscopy at UC Davis Health, and his endoscopy team, at the University of California, Sacramento. The first biopsies were performed in the United States using a novel device used for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) tissue sampling for all indications in the gastrointestinal tract, including the pancreas, stomach, esophagus, lymph nodes, and liver.

Mendoza-Ladd and his team used this tool to determine the status of three cases that were conducted by this system for the first time in the United States. It took almost a year of paperwork to get it to the United States. This procedure is similar to normal endoscopy where a camera is placed which enters the patient’s mouth and the difference is that it has a kind of mini drill which rotates at a high speed through which it is possible to take samples from the damaged organs. The difference is that this tool takes a larger sample unlike other existing tools. The device is called Endodrill GL.

Dr. Mendoza Ladd’s research focuses primarily on exploring novel applications of endoscopy in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.

How did you become a doctor?

Mendoza was attending high school at the now-defunct Los Arcos School in Zone 10. At that time he was not able to understand what to study, only aptitude test helped him. His options were dentistry, veterinary medicine and medicine, so he chose the latter.

“It’s a demanding career and it takes a lot of energy,” he says. He studied at the University of San Carlos and did his supervised internship in Chiquimula.

Mendoza-Ladd wanted to become a cardiologist and went to Mexico to study his specialty. Internships in this neighboring country are not paid.

At the time of the decision, some medical residents from Utah arrived at the hospital where he was practicing in Guatemala and Mendoza-Ladd translated for them. There he began to see differences between countries.

They asked me why I didn’t take the training in the United States, my question was if they paid for it and when they told me yes, I started figuring out all the processes which took time and took me about a year Had to save money and go abroad. Thus he arrived at the Texas Medina School of Tech University in El Paso, Texas; He was also at the University of New Mexico and is currently at the University of California.

As part of her story, she recalls that it took a lot of work and effort to get to university, “I started working at the age of 14 in my mother’s store, Celia Eugenia Ladd Oliva, because After the employee from whom she stole a lot of money decided to fire her. The financial situation in those years was not very stable. We changed houses six times over a period of 10 years because she could barely afford the rent. Could have,” the doctor recalls.

Their work included arranging merchandise, refilling coolers, serving people, cleaning, sweeping, and other details. When his classmates at school and in the neighborhood had nothing to do other than relax or play all afternoon after school, he felt frustrated at work. He says, “I was troubled seeing how my schoolmates were going on Easter holidays and I had to work in the store.”

His troubles with the job soon became noticeable and people started complaining that the young man treated them badly. He further added, “My mother scolded me for this many times because she always said that we ‘stay away from people’…but my teenage mind did not understand this.”

On Saturday he negotiated with his mother to allow him to change his shift so that he could go play soccer with the neighborhood guys in the afternoon. The family’s financial situation was going from bad to worse and the store was the best resource, it was called Tienda Sheni and it was in the Loma Linda neighborhood in Zone 11.

“Some neighbors complained because alcohol was sold and there were lawsuits to stop it…Looking back I understand the intentions of these neighbors a bit, but it bothers me that they don’t “If the store had closed, I would never have gotten to where I am,” says Mendoza-Ladd.

“When I graduated school and chose to study medicine, I set my goal to be “the best doctor,” because that was the only thing that was going to get me and my mom out of all that hard work at the store,” she They say. ,

He recalls, “I took my books with me and had to study while doing important shop tasks. Many customers became angry with me because I would turn off their music when they came in so they could study.” He graduated 7th in a class of over 200 students with an average of 81.98 points.

“Over the years, I learned to look at my experience at the store differently. What I described as bad luck and my worst misfortune was actually the best of my luck and my greatest blessing because it made me appreciate the value of things. Taught. Those years spent in the store taught me that things have a price, and it’s nothing more than saying “give it to me.” I can say that the foundation of work ethic was instilled in me by my parents, the shop was responsible for building walls and floors and putting the roof on “building my life” was the easiest thing for me to do. “He reflects.

,“I want to share this story with people who are in that situation right now and realize that it is possible to overcome it.” Mendoza-Ladd concluded.