UNLV professor has cancer surgery after delay due to bed shortage

After a two-week delay because of COVID-19-related hospital capacity issues, a UNLV law professor underwent cancer surgery Wednesday.

Michael Kagan, 46, was diagnosed in June with stage 3 melanoma. Cancerous lymph nodes were removed from his neck at University Medical Center.

“The surgery was more extensive than expected but I am recovering well and I will go home today,” Kagan said in a Thursday text message to the Review-Journal. “I am grateful to UNLV Medicine for excellent care and to UMC for having a bed for me.”

Kagan was originally supposed to have the surgery Aug. 4 at MountainView Hospital, but that didn’t happen because there weren’t enough recovery beds available due to an increase in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

In a post on Twitter, Kagan said his cancerous lymph nodes were removed during the surgery and he hopes immunotherapy will take care of anything that’s left.

“Unfortunately, I have nerve damage to my left shoulder and my face,” he wrote. “But that was expected, and it’s worth it.”

Kagan told the Review-Journal he’s grateful for the support from friends and the community.

“I hope people get vaccinated,” said Kagan, who is director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic. “We need to keep hospital beds open for people like me who need them. I have had my surgery, but there will be someone else after me.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.