Army Bob: Too many unknowingly have prostate cancer

For all the good folks who read the Army Bob column, let me warn you this is a departure from the norm. This series of articles will concern one old man’s journey through a possible cancer diagnosis.

I went in to see my primary care doctor for the MEDICARE required wellness check, a sort of physical examination. Days later I received an automated e-mail with the blood test results, began reading and the PSA score jumped out as problem. Very close to the same time I received the e-mail, Dr. Fenton, my primary care doctor and an all-around great guy, called me. The phone call came in at 7:10 a.m.; you know it is bad news when it comes that early in the morning. Dr. Fenton said not to worry just yet, the test is not positive proof of cancer and if it is cancer it “could be treatable, very treatable.”

The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) level is a marker for prostate cancer; the higher the number the better the odds of having cancer. Mine was three times the normal level for my age.

The medical folks are engaged in a hot debate over the value, indeed the need for a PSA test, but for a man between 50 and 70 the PSA test is in my layman’s opinion important. The debate concerns men with a PSA level near or slightly over the level of concern for their age. If, as in my case, a man triples the normal PSA level, it is a red flag but not proof positive of cancer.

Now there are several things that can influence the PSA numbers: enlarged prostate, infection and a few more, but with three times the maximum PSA level the odds are not good that it is a false positive or spike, although it could be.

I went to see an oncologist Dr. DeHann, who did a digital rectal exam; that was not pleasant but an important part of the process. He said he was concerned and that we need to go directly to a biopsy.

Well friends and neighbors that is where we are at up to now. I will follow up later. Prostate cancer, if discovered early enough, is survivable; in the early stages, it can be cured with out-patient treatment and a couple of follow-up appointments, but only if caught early.

Men over 50 and under 70 need to get the PSA test if for no other reason than to set a baseline; I sure wish I had done it earlier.

Statistically speaking,  more than 560 men in Wayland, Dorr, Hopkins, Moline and Martin have prostate cancer and do not know it. The intent of these articles will be to explain the process and make life a bit easier for men and families who will travel this path in the future.