Providing the best quality of care for patients is what motivates him to keep expanding RGU’s prostate care.
Daniel Voglewede, MD, FACS, has had many adventures that ultimately made El Paso the perfect place to plant his roots and work with urology patients. He was born in Ohio but spent most of his youth in Mexico City. After attending Notre Dame, he studied urology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
“I am totally bilingual, so I decided to settle in a place where that would come in handy, and that was El Paso,” says Dr. Voglewede.
He decided early on in his school career that he wanted to be a doctor.
“I was 12 years old when I was invited by a friend of mine who was a senior in high school to a biology dissection lab,” he says. “I loved it and decided then that I wanted to be a doctor.”
Specializing in prostate cancer care
Although Dr. Voglewede sees all urology patients, he moved into the prostate cancer care specialty because he saw it as a way RGU could offer patients the best quality of care possible.
“We have a large urology group,” says Dr. Voglewede. “And prostate cancer is a big part of our practice. We have a well-rounded prostate care center which includes radiation, hormone therapy, and surgery.”
In the past, there were few treatments for advanced prostate cancer. It used to be that when hormone therapy wasn’t working anymore, patients would be referred to chemotherapy and then to hospice. There have been many changes in the last five years, and RGU is proud to be at the forefront of treatment in the El Paso area.
“Now we have a lot of new medications,” says Dr. Voglewede. “Immunotherapy and androgen deprivation provide us with other ways to treat the disease when the prostate cancer cells become resistant to hormone therapy. RGU is the only place in El Paso that is offering immunotherapy for prostate cancer.”
Staying on the cutting edge of prostate cancer care
“Our immunotherapy is done in the radiation center,” says Dr. Voglewede. “Because it is a radioactive substance that we use, Radium 223, we can send our patients directly across the street to our radiation center. This treatment can stop the progression of the disease on the bones and has been very effective in prolonging life for patients with advanced prostate cancer.”
Dr. Voglewede is working to also provide chemotherapy and infusions at the infusion clinic. This is one of the areas of future growth for the RGU clinic.
“Changes are continuous in this field,” says Dr. Voglewede. “It is my goal as a physician to stay educated in my field and offer our patients the most cutting edge therapies.”
RGU’s physician champion for advanced prostate cancer
As the physician champion for RGU’s Advanced Prostate Center, Dr. Voglewede is passionate about offering RGU patients the best care for advanced prostate cancer. He will continue seeing all of his urology patients, but his role as physician champion allows him to work specifically on ensuring that the Advanced Prostate Cancer Center at RGU follows all the latest protocols in prostate cancer treatment.
“Establishing protocols in the industry means finding out how we can as a group provide the best care for our patients,” says Dr. Voglewede. “To do that, we have to establish protocols and make sure everybody follows them. The protocols are established by the group and by the standard of care accepted in the urology industry.”
Dr. Voglewede finds this specialty rewarding because the mortality in prostate cancer is very low, so the opportunity to improve the quality of life for patients with new therapies makes all the difference.
Outside the office
When not seeing patients, Dr. Voglewede likes working out at the gym or biking on the weekends. He is passionate about health and leading a healthy lifestyle.
“My beautiful wife is originally from Mexico, and we have been married for 40 years. All three of our children are bilingual and now out of the house,” he says. “Our daughter has a law degree and works with immigrants, our son works for Halliburton in Houston, and our younger son works for MCA here in El Paso. We have three grandchildren — all boys.”
Patients are what motivate him
For Dr. Voglewede, treating his patients is not just about making a living, it is about helping them to become as healthy as possible, so his greatest satisfaction is connecting with each patient.
“When my patients leave my office with a smile, when I can see that they like and respect me for what I am doing for them, it makes my job worth it,” he says. “I am lucky enough to be able to do something I love. If you’re lucky enough to establish a practice and care for you patients, what could be more rewarding than that?”
