During the 2015 IC Awareness Month campaign, we asked patients to nominate compassionate, knowledgeable care providers for our first annual “Doctor” and “PT” of the year awards. Out of the hundreds of doctors nominated, I’m happy to announce that Dr. Robert Evans earned the honor of 2015 Doctor Of The Year! The comments shared about his treatment exemplify the dignity and compassion that he and his team show to the patients struggling with IC and pelvic pain. They are an absolute treasure to their patients and the IC community as a whole.
Dr. Evans has devoted most of his career to working patients with lower urinary tract problems and interstitial cystitis. In addition to a large clinical practice located at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) where he serves as an associate professor of urology, Dr. Evans has been a principal investigator in numerous IC research studies and cutting edge clinical trials. He is a a featured speaker on interstitial cystitis, bladder pain syndrome and pelvic pain at conferences around the world. Known for his calm and encouraging demeanor as well as incredible depth of experience working with the most complex cases, it’s not unusual for patients to fly from across the country (and world) for a consultation. He currently serves on the Medical Advisory Boards for both the IC Network and the ICA.
It is our honor to bestow the “2015 Doctor of the Year” Award to Dr. Evans. His patients clearly adore him and he, in turns, treats them with the utmost of kindness and compassion. Thank you Dr. Evans for having a clinic that is warm, friendly, comforting and encouraging! Thanks, also, to Christy Keyes and our volunteer team for tabulating the nominations!
Jill Osborne MA
ICN President
Dr. Evans Clinic Information
Dr. Robert Evans
Wake Forest Baptist Health – Dept. of Urology
140 Charlois Blvd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
Phone: 336-716-4131
Visit His Wake Forest Profile Page
Read Some Of His Nominations!
- I first met Dr. Evans 25 years ago when I gingerly walked into his office and sat down carefully with more weight on one hip than the other. He looked at my husband who had come into the exam room with me and said, “I know what’s wrong with her. But let me get some info first and then we’ll talk.” I’d been seeing another urologist for over a year because of frequent UTIs, pain, frequency and plain being miserable. I’d lost lots of time at work doing a job I loved that required me to spend all day on my feet being energetic and happy. I’d work long hours and had built up a lot of overtime, but for the last year had used a lot of that time going to doctor appointments and staying home when I wasn’t scheduled to do the most important parts of my work. The uro I was seeing kept giving me antibiotics and telling me that I’d get better. A year into treatment during a cystoscopy, with no anesthesia, he literally patted my head and told me that I didn’t have an infection and all the pain was in my head, I should go see a counselor. I left the room crying. When I checked out the receptionist looked at me and quietly said if I didn’t like the service I was getting I should get a second opinion. She said I was paying for treatment, and just as paying a plumber, if the job wasn’t being done right, I could go to someone else to get better work. I thanked her, went home and got the appointment with Dr. Evans. He did know what was wrong. A week later, after a distension under anesthesia, he showed my husband the pictures he had taken of my bladder that looked like the planet Mars, and said I had Interstitial Cystitis with ulcers. A few days later he explained to us what that meant, and said he was pleased my husband was coming to the visits with me because this was a family disease, it would affect both of us, and the more we both knew the better I would be handling treatment. Dr. Evans has been an amazing part of our lives for the past 25 years. Anytime something is medically wrong with me, the first thing my husband says is, “Have you asked Dr. Evans about that?” We run everything by him, because he understands that it’s not just IC that affects my body, it’s a complex syndrome of auto immune issues that include Fibromyalgia, Migraine Headaches, IBS, Restless Legs, Arthritis, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Rectal Prolapse, sensitivity to medications, irritable skin… He understands that we have to keep swapping medications because my body gets tolerant to ones I’m on and they quit working; or that medications don’t work for me the way they do for other people. He allows me to try complimentary therapies with traditional medicine; puts up with me when I decide to totally go off all medications and let my body reset itself then add meds back one by one as needed. What I appreciate most is that he gives me credit for having a brain and being a reasonable person, so he gives me leeway with some meds, letting me choose if I need one or three a day depending on my needs, and he’s always understood that my goal is to find a way to function with the pain and the meds I have to take. People come to see Dr. Evans from hundreds of miles away. I’ve met people in the waiting room from Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. He’s compassionate, has dedicated his entire career to helping people with IC, has done research to find better treatments and delivery systems for medications. He teaches his patients to take charge of their own care, encourages them to be healthy, do everything they can to have as little pain as possible, wants families to be educated about how IC affects the patient, has been free with his time in talking to support groups and others about the disease. Dr. Evans should not only be the doctor of the year, he should be the doctor of the quarter century. At least he is of mine and all the patients he’s treated.
- Dr. Evans, not only, listens carefully to his patient’s concerns and questions, he treat his patient and their family members with dignity and respect. He treats the family like, what they are, the patient’s, at home, support group and caregivers. Dr. Evans takes the time to answer patient’s and their family’s questions and concerns and then explains treatment choices carefully, thoughtfully, and thoroughly. He makes sure that, both, the patient and family understand his answers and explanations. Dr. Evans takes the time to give his patient hope and encouragement by staying on the forefront of the newest medications and suggesting current and up-coming clinic trials, that may be helpful to the individual patient to treat their specific Interstitial Cystitis; however, he never pushes his patient to participate in clinic trials. He gives the information, explains the purpose and goal of the trial, then lets the patient decide if they WANT to participate. I have spoken with several of Dr. Evans’ patients and we all agree that he is the most caring, concerned, compassionate and thorough Urologist we have ever met while dealing with IC. For these reasons and so many more, I am nominating Dr. Robert Evans as “Doctor of The Year.”
- I along with many others have been treated by hom for IC. I was brought to him when I was 15. I am now 25 but this man has changed my life. My IC is debilitating but without Dr. Evans I could never have managed my pain or frequency. My doctor in my home state told me I would have to have my bladder removed and be left with a pouch. He gave me no other options. I left my home state and with a Duke University Hospital recommendation I was directed to Dr. Evans who has taken care of me for the past ten years. He has listened to everything I’ve had to say. I am comfortable with questions and concerns, he is open and honest when it comes to pain medicine. He doesn’t make you feel as if you are an addict for even asking about your pain management problems. So many people complain about doctors and I always say “if you are willing to travel for your care go to my doctor he will change your life!!!” I owe my doctor so much, he has dealt with every part of my IC and made sure I am always taken care of. He takes his time with you during your appointments, he honestly makes you feel like you are his only patient. He needs to be known because he is resounding.
- I have suffered from IC for five years and seen multiple doctors who did not wish to treat me due to how young I was. My first appointment with Dr. Evans was July of 2014 and in the short time that I saw him, he spent over an hour with me and my mother explaining things that had never really been explained and even finding things wrong other than my IC that 3 other doctors had missed themselves. He has helped me to find a treatment that has helped me even start to consider having a semi normal life again and his bedside manners are impeccable.
- Dr. Evans is sincerely dedicated to finding a cure for this awful disease. He keeps me informed on clinical trials and he has never hesitated to try other treatments for me. No other Dr in the past 3 yrs has ever tried to help me. My first visit with Dr Evans , he sat down with me and listen to every word that I had to say. Then we started working on a treatment plan. He has been absolutely an amazing Dr. I .see why so many people travel many miles to see him
- Dr Evans has been my Dr for almost 20 yrs, he’s compassionate , has devoted his entire career caring for IC pts. He’s always researching , doing clinical trials before most other Drs.. Because of him I have had access to every new treatment instantly. My 1st interstim was put in 18 yrs ago bc he was the Dr working w/ Medtronic before others. He genuinely cares about all his pts, sees them from all over the country, never turns anyone away. He has simply changed my life and many others for the better !
- I was seeing another Urologist before seeing Dr. Robert Evans. The one before messed me up so bad, I had the mesh that was recalled and Dr. Evans removed it, He said the Dr. that put it in really messed my bladder up, he said it looked like a piece of Roast. But I have come a long way since seeing Dr. Evans he has helped me so much that I have a lot of good days. He started me on instills to do at home. He listens to his patients and he will answer every question you have until you are done. There may be patients out in the waiting area. But it is worth the wait. We drive 4 hrs. to see him. I don’t mind sitting and waiting because it is like a support group sitting in the waiting room, I have met many people from other states while waiting on him. But he cares for all his patients. There are not many doctors that I give a Birthday and a Christmas gift to and he is the only one. He makes you feel comfortable. Even before a surgery, he explains what he will be doing. I highly recommend Dr. Evans.
