He was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. With big dreams of being a veterinarian, plans soon changed after a few months on the farm. Meet Santa Clarita resident and neurologist, Dr. Lance Fogan. “I always wanted to be a veterinarian,” states Lance. “When I was in 8th grade, I read all kinds of books about veterinarians, and I sent letters out to veterinarian schools. They all said I needed large animal experience on a farm.” But Lance was a “city boy”… Arranged by Cornell University’s Veterinary School, the “city boy” from Buffalo spent the summer between his sophomore and junior year in high school on a farm just 60 miles south of his hometown. It wasn’t quite what Lance had expected. “I didn’t like the farm, and I didn’t like working with large animals,” states Lance. “It just wasn’t for me, so I thought…medicine. But, I still visit that family on their farm for a day each summer over one-half century later.” When Lance returned from the farm in 1957, he began working after school at a cancer research facility in Buffalo where he operated the cigarette-smoking machine. From then on, it was all about medicine. Lance joined the Future Doctors of America club and after high school, attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he majored in Anthropology and Linguistics. “While I was in medical school, I had some opportunities to travel all over the world to primitive places,” states Lance. “I had found a doctor in New Guinea. I wrote to him, asking if I could come for the summer.” In 1964, Lance traveled to the tropics of Papua New Guinea for two and a half months, followed by several other medical trips all over the world. Upon return, Lance graduated medical school and married just two weeks later. In the mid 1960’s, Lance began working in the U.S. Public Health Service as a Tuberculosis Control Officer in Oklahoma. While working, he obtained his Master of Public Health Degree, and in 1968, went to Cleveland, Ohio for neurology training. “In the old days, being a doctor, it was an 18 hour a day job, and if you’re not with a patient, you’re in the library,” states Lance. “My job, though, was my family.” In 1971, an opportunity to join Kaiser Permanente had sparked Lance’s interest. That year, Lance headed west, and gave California a chance. “We moved to Santa Clarita. We found a home for $46,000 that we are still living in today.” A board certified neurologist, Lance practiced general clinical neurology full time at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City.  Lance worked with Kaiser Permanente for 26 years before retiring in 1997. He continues to share his love and knowledge for medicine with others, teaching medical students and resident physicians as Clinical Professor of Neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine.In March of this year, Lance released his book titled Dings, a novel chronicling the struggles of an eight-year-old boy named Conner who is failing the third grade because of undiagnosed epilepsy. “Over three million Americans, and 60 million others worldwide have epilepsy, and it often goes undiagnosed in children. This novel documents the family’s dramatic clinical and emotional journey in the world of epilepsy. “Here’s a book that explains everything about epilepsy,” states Lance. “While Conner may seem to be the main subject of the story, I really think it’s the mother.” Like all parents of epilepsy, the mother must learn to deal with Conner’s condition and diagnosis. Since its release in March, Dings has been well received by the epilepsy community. “In June, Dings was recognized by the Epilepsy Foundation of America’s website, epilepsy.com,” states Lance. “This website is followed by several million in the epilepsy world (one percent of Americans) and those touched indirectly by epilepsy (relatives, educators, psychologists, school nurses and other healthcare workers.” “I just wanted to raise awareness about epilepsy. Nearly 70 to 80 percent of people with epilepsy have complete or markedly improved control of their seizures if they have the right medication and the right dosage…so there is successful life, even with epilepsy.” Dings is currently available on Amazon.com in paperback and for Kindle. For more information about Dr. Lance Fogan, visit www.lancefogan.com. You can also follow Dr. Fogan on Twitter (Lance_Fogan) and Facebook (Lance Fogan).
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