Through His Own Screening, Occupational Health Doctor Catches Cancer Early

Patient Inspiration

By: Niki Kapsambelis

October 17, 2024

The first thing Roberto Lopez-Nieves did after leaving the doctor's office with a diagnosis of prostate cancer was call his two adult children with a question: "How am I going to tell your mom?"

Roberto, an occupational health physician at Viatris' facilities in Vega Baja and Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, has dedicated his professional life to educating patients about the importance of preventative care, particularly the role it plays in stopping non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer. One way that he does this is to recommend health screenings to employees. (For more on Viatris' commitment to reducing the burden of NCDs, see boxed insert.)

He practiced what he preached, obtaining regular screenings as part of his own health care routine. But when he became a patient himself, he admits the news was difficult to hear.

"We realized in this process that life is short, and we have to enjoy it to the maximum," Roberto said. "We have to take advantage of the time that we have to the fullest extent, because every day is one day less of life. That's why we need to plan and live every stage of our lives in the happiest way possible."

Although they were worried, his wife and children - all of whom are also physicians - were supportive. They consulted with their professional networks: "there were a lot of opinions in our house," Roberto said.

Because his cancer was detected early, and had not spread, Roberto opted for surgery - the first operation of his life. His family held a party with a mariachi band and a cake shaped like a prostate to celebrate.

"Obviously, no one wants to have prostate cancer, or any type of cancer," Roberto said. "But this is part of life, and I have to celebrate that I am alive."

He consciously changed his point of view from focusing on sadness to accepting his diagnosis as another stage of life.

"Like the World Health Organization says, health is not just the absence of illness, it is enjoying each stage in the best form possible," Roberto said.

Within six weeks, he was able to return to work and testing has shown that the cancer has not returned. He now uses the experience as an object lesson in why preventative care is worthwhile.

"Many times, people don't put much value on prevention," he said. "Doing a colonoscopy or going to the urologist or getting a mammogram is something that takes work and time; it is burdensome. And if someone is not sick, it can be difficult for many people to understand it."

Click here for Roberto's thoughts on how his personal experiences with cancer help him educate patients.

Roberto appreciates that his current role at Viatris allows him to spend time on health education, which he believes is one of the most important pieces of prevention.

"I have the opportunity to spend whatever time is necessary with the patient and to educate them, to build a rapport, to build confidence with them and convince them the importance of preventative care - be it with hypertension, diabetes, etcetera," he said. "Now that I've had cancer, I've had the opportunity to get closer to the patient and say … 'Look, I had cancer, and I had the good fortune of catching it early … and that was thanks to doing the preventative medicine and practicing what I preach."

Our Commitment to Reducing the NCD Burden

Reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is core to our mission of empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. October 15-22, 2024, marks the Global Week for Action on NCDs.

Viatris is proud to support this week through our partnership with the NCD Alliance. As part of this collaboration, in September, Viatris participated in the Third Annual Multistakeholder Gathering on Tackling Inequities in Noncommunicable Diseases, an event co-sponsored by the NCD Alliance and the World Health Organization adjacent to the United Nations General Assembly. During the event, Viatris highlighted our support for NCD care integration in people living with HIV to reduce health inequities. One project we supported was the development of a collection of patient stories to promote advocacy and awareness on NCD/HIV integration.

We also are participating in Our Views, Our Voices, a pre-conference on Feb. 13-15, 2025, during the fourth Global NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

The pre-conference, which is organized for people with lived experience of NCDs, will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions and interactive workshops. It aims to provide a rich platform for collaboration, innovation and forward-thinking strategies to address the challenges of ensuring meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs.

In addition to these events, Viatris' partnership with the NCD Alliance includes sponsorship of the NCD Academy, a user-friendly healthcare professional education platform developed by the American College of Cardiology in partnership with the NCD Alliance and the World Heart Federation. The platform is designed to equip the global primary care community with the skills necessary to mitigate today's leading causes of NCDs.

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