Step Up to the Plate and Fight Prostate Cancer

This last year has been an exciting and challenging one for me, both professionally and personally. But, as challenges go, I faced a different sort of curve ball almost exactly a year ago: My doctor told me I had prostate cancer.

Fortunately, we caught it early, and so far I am doing well.

Recently, I read that a government panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, dropped its objection to routine prostate cancer screening, saying it is possible the tests save lives.

While this is certainly a positive step, this advisory panel stopped short of actually recommending routine prostate cancer screenings. I don’t understand why.

Since early detection is key, and men need to be more proactive in this regard, I am disappointed by the panel’s failure to recommend this life-saving step. Prostate cancer screenings can not only create awareness but also save lives.

We need to promote awareness and screenings. The American Cancer Society recommends that men age 50 and older should have a prostate screening each year, and that those at high risk should begin at 45.

Because of my risk profile, my doctor first measured my baseline PSA, or prostate specific antigen, at the age of 40, and we have been tracking it ever since.

Doing so undoubtedly saved my life.

Many men, however, don’t get tested because the guidelines on testing are simply not clear; others simply would rather not know.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed solid tumor in men in the U.S., and yet we do not take this condition seriously.

More than 30,000 men will die from prostate cancer this year alone -- that’s one every 17 minutes.

This is especially important for those known to be at high risk, such as African American men and men with a history of the disease in close family members. I fall into both of these high-risk groups.

African Americans have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world and are 50% more likely to develop it than men of other racial and ethnic groups. In addition, I also have several family members who have either been diagnosed with prostate cancer or have died from it.

October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, with all the pink ribbons, it was hard to miss.

I applaud woman for being so active, vocal and visual in their fight against breast cancer. They have taken control of this health issue. The breast cancer mantra is “early detection, early detection, mammograms, mammograms.”

Critics of prostate cancer screenings say they are often unnecessary. I could not disagree more.

We have to step up to the plate and fight prostate cancer with the same enthusiasm as women approach breast cancer -- their campaign is centered on screening and early detection.

If you have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer, or like me have already been treated, know your options.

Knowledge is power. I challenge men to gain a better understanding of the treatment options available and to familiarize themselves with the potential benefits and side effects of each treatment.

This will encourage a much more effective partnership with their physician.

Although treatment strategies have evolved over the last decade, men are still limited in their options, especially when it comes to preventing the high probability of progression or recurrence of the disease after initial treatment -- something I think about every day.

Women are not ashamed to talk about breast cancer and its treatment, and they have shown the tenacity to fight for necessary resources to increase funding for screenings and research.

We must have a greater choice of options to detect and to treat prostate cancer at every stage, and I implore the government and the pharmaceutical industry to focus on screenings, early detection and on finding new treatments.

As a prostate cancer survivor, I urge men to take action. Don’t take your health for granted. Take a more proactive role in our health. If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for your family and friends. It’s time to knock this disease out of the park.

If you have not thought about prostate cancer, find out about it. Early detection saves lives. It saved mine.