‘Elevator Bob’ helps answer prostate cancer questions at Charlotte health center

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A 70-year-old prostate cancer survivor dedicated his retirement to helping men living with prostate cancer find a support system by sitting outside an elevator at a Urology Center in Charlotte.

“Nobody talks about prostate cancer. Men don’t want to talk about it. Why? I don’t know. But they don’t,” said Prostate Cancer Survivor and ERLEADA patient Bob Lane.

Lane was one of tens of thousands of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.

“Over 300,000 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and approximately 5 million men are currently living with a diagnosis of prostate cancer,” explained Chesapeake Urology Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Robotics Dr. Benjamin Lowentritt.

In North Carolina alone in 2025, more than 11,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer–and more than 1,200 will die of the disease. But the death rate decreases significantly the earlier it is detected.

“It was very, very aggressive and it was unusual because in January of that year, my PSA was only 1.3. In May, it was 7.5 in the end of May, it was 10.5, so it was very aggressive,” Lane said. He was diagnosed in 2014.

He had surgery to remove his prostate as well as other organs and then three years later, the cancer came back as Stage 4.

“It took off again like a rocket,” Lane recalled. “And they found it in C1 right between my brain and my spinal cord. And it was growing aggressively and it was either going to go into my brain or my spinal cord or both, and they couldn’t operate on it because it was just in the spot where they couldn’t do it. So they blasted it with radiation very aggressively."

On Thursday, Lane proudly said he was four years cancer-free, but still remembered how lonely he felt at the beginning.

“There wasn’t a lot of information that was readily available,” Lane explained. “It was frustrating not knowing how to how to find what the side effects are going to be.”

That frustration led him to the lobby of the Urology Specialists of the Carolinas in Elizabeth.

He started by handing flyers out in the lobby for a 5K fundraiser run for Zero, a nonprofit that aims to connect men dealing with prostate cancer to resources. While he did that, he realized men had a lot of questions he could help answer.

“The race came and went, I said, ‘Well, you know, you don’t have to do this.’ And he said, ‘if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue,” recalled Urology Specialists of the Carolinas Prostate Cancer Clinic Nurse Director Tracy Peck.

So in 2023, Lane started sitting in the lobby two days a week next to the elevator.

“I get hugs a lot. They ask if it’s ok to hug and and I say, ‘of course’ and I give him a hug,” explained Lane.

He said he gets hugs because of what he shares with them.

“I can let them know that, ‘Hey, I’ve been through what you’re going through. I’m continuing to go through it’ and share them with them information, credible information,“ explained Lane. ”I let them know they’re not alone, but know there is hope.”

“He’s making connections because of a diagnosis that he never wanted,” said Peck. “They love him. And so when we talk about him, some people are like, ‘Oh, yeah, I know. I know Elevator Bob. And we talked.’”

Peck tells patients about Lane so they can approach him on their way out if they want.

In the lobby, if approached, Lane hands out pamphlets about what symptoms to expect, support groups, the importance of diet and exercises and other resources.

Over time, he got the nick name “Elevator Bob” complete with a t-shirt, a coffee mug and even his own business cards.

“I don’t have all the answers when someone talks to me, but I’ll find them and I e-mail them,” Lane explained. “I mean, I typically will e-mail everybody a specific, personalized e-mail with attachments, typically I give them links...to the websites so they can help them more.”

Lane said some patients have even started stopping by on days they do not have an appointment to learn more about his cancer story and ask more questions.

“It makes it more of a family type feel,” Peck said of his impact. “I even say that to our our patients...You’re part of this community now and Bob can connect people and you know, some patients come in and then want to do the same type of thing that he’s doing. He he has kind of created a little bit of a, ‘Hey, I could do something like that, you know and be out in the community and help other people.’”

While some days are flooded with conversations by the elevator, other days can be quiet, but Lane said he views every conversation as an opportunity.

“A win is being able to help someone I’m speaking with for the first time. And show them they’re not alone,” said Lane. “I do it because it helps people and it’s making a difference.”

For more information from one of the resources ‘Elevator Bob’ often gives to prostate cancer patients, visit Zero Cancer’s website.

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