Judge Ezra beats cancer twice
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
If U.S. District Judge David Ezra tells you he's lucky, you better believe it.
Advertiser library photo
Ezra, the chief administrative judge in the federal courthouse, was diagnosed twice in the past month with cancer. But after two successful operations, his doctors say his chances of full recovery are "better than excellent."
"I could get some other kind of cancer 10 years from now. But the doctors told me these two instances will not impact my life span," U.S. District Judge David Ezra said.
"The doctors told me I am the luckiest guy in Honolulu," Ezra said yesterday. "I'm really very fortunate that these were caught very early."
Ezra, a 56-year-old avid runner, said he has been bothered through the years by nodes on his vocal cords, sometimes called "singer's nodes." They are common and on at least four occasions he can recall, were removed without complication.
After the spring semester at the University of Hawai'i law school, where he teaches, the judge flew to San Francisco to have another node removed, he said. This time, however, the node was malignant.
"That was the bad news," he said. "The good news is it was very early Stage 1 cancer. It had not spread anywhere."
Ezra must still undergo daily "pinpoint radiation" treatment for the next six to eight weeks. It will take only 10 minutes a day and have no effect on his workload.
After Ezra returned to Hawai'i, one of his doctors here wanted to be sure there was no cancer in his lymph nodes and ordered an MRI.
Ezra's lymph nodes were fine.
But there was a lump on his thyroid.
"So, they took out my thyroid and there was also a cancer," he said. "It was totally separate. But the cure rate on that type of cancer, with removal, is virtually 100 percent."
So far, Ezra's medical problems have not affected his work and the judge doesn't think they will. He has been busy in recent months with back-to-back cases and the duties that come with being the chief administrative judge.
He views his life philosophically. He's a realist, but he doesn't see the glass as half empty.
"Anybody can get anything," Ezra said. "I could get some other kind of cancer 10 years from now. But the doctors told me these two instances will not impact my life span."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
