Zelkowitz, Richard 34 Maple Street, Norwalk, CT 06850

"Okay so I’m seriously like almost 30 years late with reviewing Dr.Z, but he deserves the recognition and oddly enough I had no intention or even an inkling of doing this today (not for any reason other than the thought honestly never occurred to me), instead I was looking up some symptoms I was having and some how I find Dr.Z’s google page basking in the light of my google search. And I decided to peak at his google swag and saw he only has a few reviews on here. Which is a bit mind boggling. He is not just an amazing oncologist, he is truly a hero, and even more important than his amazing doctor skills and hero status, he is the funniest doctor you’ll ever meet. No joke, (total pun of the century right there) Dr.Z is brilliant at making you laugh and smile and feel like you’re anywhere but in the office of a cancer specialist uncomfortably sitting with your legs mostly crossed in one of those stiff yet slightly cushioned chairs that they have insisted on giving patients as some kind of torture stool since the 80’s. My mom used to say that she would forget that she was terrified and desperately waiting for news of any kind by the time she was in his presence for more than a few intro jokes and goofy nods of hilarity from the good doc. She’d laugh and smile more in his office than she had pretty much the whole week. And by the time it was briefing time she felt like she could handle anything. And guess what- she could. I think I was 8 years old when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I believe she was diagnosed at stage 4. I know it was bad. Very bad. So bad in fact that no one thought she’d live through it except the doc. That Christmas Santa spoiled me rotten, I got a friggin brand new game boy and right after going bonkers over my new game boy I went to open the next gift and I just fell to the floor; I got a friggin SUPER NINTENDO!!!! A brand new Super Nintendo literally seconds after opening my brand new game boy. Stuff like that didn’t happen to any kid I knew. It just didn’t. Not even the ones who used to sell cookies and go knit blankets for the homeless and stuff like that. I knew Santa must have seen all those times I didn’t trip my annoying cousin as he passed by despite having the absolute perfect opportunity and set up for a ground breaking fall that would have landed me in the cool club hall of fame. He must have seen each time I strained myself and kept my feet where they were, he must have known how hard it was to control the urge. He definitely knew. Because only the best kids got two main gifts in one Christmas. But my family didn’t understand; my mom slept on a broken couch because we didn’t have much money and lived in a tiny one bedroom, so they all stared at her trying to figure out what Santa was thinking. I couldn’t explain the whole thing about not tripping my cousin and how awesomely good that made me, since my cousin was right there. So I just stared at my mom with everyone else. And then my mom started crying. I still remember it clear as day. And that’s when she said something about cherishing every Christmas with me as though it were her last as the tears poured down her face. I didn’t know then, of course, but I do now- she wasn’t supposed to live through this cancer. She absolutely thought this was her last Christmas with me. Breast cancer was all over the news and tv back then. Killing women left and right. And she caught it so late. Her odds of beating it were bad according to everything she read and saw. But not according to her doctor who didn’t believe in anything until fat ladies start singing. And he was right to be so stubborn or egotistical or just plain amazing-whatever he was, he was right. Because she was there the next Christmas and for the next 20 plus years. She survived. She beat the odds set against her. Because he told her she would. I truly believe that knowledge is power when it comes to doctors. But not the only powerful factor. You need someone who you have faith in, who you trust, who treats you like they care about your life, not just your cancer. That’s Dr.Z"

"Empathetic soulful kind md"

"Dedicated and caring oncologist"