Which Number Do You Know – Your Odometer or Your PSA? Prostate Cancer survivor Chuck Gallagher Raises New Question

In talking with a friend of mine the other day, he make an interesting observation – he said, “You can walk up to most any guy in America and ask him his odometer reading and within read he can tell you the number. But if you follow up with a question – ‘What is your PSA number’ the guy will look at you dumbfounded.”

I must admit…I was taken back by that astute observation.

So today…I decided I’d try it. After all, what did I have to lose?

I stopped by this hamburger joint today for a quick bite. (I know those who are into nutrition will chastise me for poor eating habits – I got it.) As I sat there a man with his wife and two children came into the restaurant. He looked to be in his forties…maybe pushing 50…maybe. Anyway, they sat down, looked at the menu and placed their order. By this time I was having lunch and mentally debating whether I would have the guts to conduct my experiment.

I finished. As I stood up to pay at the counter…I went for it. In a nice manner I approached this family. I directed my attention to the man and told him that I was conducting a survey – could I ask him a quick question. With a look of skepticism he responded – “O.K. – I guess.”

“Sir, do you know how many miles is on the odometer of your car – say within 2,000 miles?”

“Yea. 32,000 or there abouts. Say what’s this about,” he responded.

“One more simple question Sir, do you know what your PSA number is?”

His wife then chimed in and said, “Yea, what is your PSA number?” Somehow she was more aware than he of the importance of being checked and being checked EARLY!

He didn’t know – you could tell that by the look in his eyes. In order to help him out…I told him that I was a prostate cancer survivor and that one thing that I could do is help men become aware of the importance of regular checkups and early detection. Since one out of ever six men will develop prostate cancer sometime in their life…early detection just makes sense.

Attached is an e-mail (with identifying information removed) that a friend of mine sent me today. It illustrates the CRITICAL IMPORTANCE of early detection. Once you read the following … you’ll understand why this might save the life of the man you love!

I have been a reader of the mails and I cannot tell you what a blessing they have been to me as well as a help. I too, feel so much sorrow, pain and anger at what this cancer does to all those who whose lives get touched by it.

I am the wife of a man who has Type IV PCs. He was diagnosed last year (June), at the age of 51. Three years prior to that, he had a PSA done and it was 2.8. He was told it was well within the normal range. Feeling healthy and being busy, he skipped his physicals at 49 and 50. Then, only because he got sick with pnuemonia and a bladder infection at 51, did they do a PSA. It came back at 19.8

Long story short (if I can do that), the did a biopsy. Came back positive. Gleason 4+3, now PSA at that time up to 23.5 We were told that there was an 11% chance it had gone outside the prostate.

We read up on all the options and were going foward with HIFU in Canada. To ensure that we were not depleting our savings for something that would not work if the cancer had spread, we had the lymph nodes removed and biopsied. Well, HIFU was no longer an option as the cancer was in the lymph nodes.

My husband first went on Casodex and Lupron, then went for 25 tomotherapy treatments and finally had an HDR done last November. After two lupron shots, my husband elected to stop them (side effects were tough on him). It has always been our prayer that the tomo and HDR killed all the cancer. From what I have recorded since May of his PSA, I don’t think so.

May ‘08 – 0.05
Sept ‘08 – 0.28
Oct ‘08 – 0.51
Nov ‘08 – 0.67

He knows that going back on Lupron is going to have to happen. He just hates his life so much these days. From the lymph node removal, he has lymphedema and it is believed by his doctors that that surgery also caused some nerve damage. He has severe right heel pain and left leg spasms as well as back and hip pain. He has tried Cymbalta and Lyrica and cannot tolerate what they do to him mentally. He lives on Oxyncontin twice a day, supplemented by Vicodin when needed. He has never been able to completely empty during urination and holds 500cc-800cc in his bladder AFTER he has gone. So…he self catherdizes 2x a day. It hurts me so much to seem him in pain. He wants some sort of quality of life back.

I just do not know what, if anything, I can do. I help with the diet and supplements but it seems so insignificant. It is just so darn hard to hear doctor’s tell us that it is there job to keep him alive for as long as possible because there is no cure for him, just palliative care.

My heart breaks when I hear stories like this. While early detection won’t work in 100% of the cases…it will work in most.

So which number do you know – your odometer or your PSA?

Prostate Cancer and African-American Men – Let’s Open A Can of Worms!

Today I had a wonderful opportunity to visit with my best friend. In order to frame this blog entry, let me state that I am Caucasian and he is African-American. That is irrelevant except in the context of a question that I posed to him.

Reality is – African-American men have a higher probability of developing Prostate Cancer than do Caucasian men. (As a point of reference – Asian men have the lowest rate of Prostate Cancer). Since it is medically proven that African-American males are predisposed to Prostate Cancer the question was:

Why are African-American men less inclined to have routine and early checks for Prostate Cancer – such as a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) or PSA test?

I have asked that question of two African-American men – one who had Prostate Cancer (and like myself was a survivor) and, today, my best friend.

I was surprised by their answers – which were vastly different. I am going to provide both answers without attributing authorship to either.

I suspect that once read, I may receive a ton of responses and that, frankly, is the purpose. My point here is not in any way to be racist, but rather to expose an issue and create dialogue. If we can raise awareness – especially in the African-American community – then lives will be saved and the outcome will be worth the controversy.

RESPONSE ONE: “Well, Chuck, you must put this in historical perspective. Black men were brought to this country as slaves within the past 300 years. They (black men) were treated with less respect than the land owners farm animals. Therefore, unlike their white brothers, they (Black men) were illiterate and did not receive proper medical care. They were never taught the importance of medically taking care of themselves. Therefore, my generation (both men who commented were Baby Boomers like me) has come to know the importance of having regular check ups. My father’s generation did not. Hence, when they found out it was important, it was too late. Black men are behind overall in medical care and communication of the importance of preventative maintenance and testing.”

RESPONSE TWO: “Well, Chuck, I hate to say it, but African-American men are scared. Black men, in general, are homophobic, so the thought of someone sticking a finger or anything else, for that matter, is just unacceptable. It is just note part of what the Black man’s psyche is willing to accept. The other issue is sexual performance. A Black man is more defined by his sexual performance than a white man. The idea that a prostate cancer diagnosis may leave a man impotent or even partially unable to perform is enough to cause the members of my ethnicity to avoid getting checked. Sad, but many have said to me, they would rather be able to perform and then die of prostate cancer, than have their woman leave them and live.”

QUESTION: Do either of the responses resonate as true?

I would appreciate your comments as this discussion – perhaps more than the others thus far – has the potential for raising awareness and saving lives. Not only am I interested in providing solutions, but early detection saved my life and I have an ethical and moral obligation to spread the word.