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Letter: The importance of a PSA test

I am fortunate to be amid a life well-lived. I cannot complain. I have experienced adventure from dozens of ‘Dead shows, to Alaska and Austria, Israel to Istanbul, Martha’s Vineyard to Machu Pichu, and Kansas City to Cape Town. As a parent of five, a lawyer and former college professor, I am used to thinking on my feet, effectuating an outcome, problem-solving and controlling the dialogue. Nothing in my life prepared me for Jan. 11, 2021, when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

For 11 years, I was vigilant about my annual checkup, where I took a prostate-specific antigen test. A PSA test is a simple blood test, like a blood test for high cholesterol. PSA is not routinely checked, and unless you have a family history, you need to ask for it. I don’t have a family history.

Fortunately, my primary care physician, Dr. Jon Feeney, at Colorado Mountain Medical warned that if my PSA level ever climbed above 4.0 or rose more than one point in a year, it would be advisable to get a biopsy of my prostate. Sure enough, my PSA climbed above 4.0. After taking a urine test and then a pelvic MRI (both ambivalent), I underwent a biopsy that confirmed I had cancer. Trained to ask questions, and naturally inpatient, these attributes served me well. Knowledge is a powerful tool in this fight, as is connection with people you can depend on to listen and support you, whether you are a patient or a partner.



In the whirlwind of processing the diagnosis, I was scheduled for a surgery within weeks. My treatment team of my wife, Elizabeth, and my sister, Ruthie, helped me navigate my emotional darkness and prepared me mentally for a three-hour surgery to remove my cancerous prostate. Prostate cancer can kill you, and treatments can have a negative impact on your body.

Non-surgical options range from radiation and chemotherapy to hormone deprivation therapy and a variety of drugs. I had always heard “that stuff grows slowly” and prostate cancer is “for old guys.” On Feb. 2, 2021, at 59 years old, I showed up at the men’s urology oncology ward of UC Health Medical for a radical prostatectomy. I was terrified, and while my body has since healed, my mind still reels. I attend prostate cancer recovery groups, counseling, surf, meditate and count my lucky stars.

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I recently took another PSA test, and the prostate specific antigen remains undetectable. Fellas, and those who love the men in your life, I encourage you to get checked annually in your mid-40s if you might have symptoms or a family history and certainly in your 50s. A PSA test is not included in your annual physical unless you ask, nor is it part of all that blood they draw for your knee or shoulder surgery. The wellness exam and screening are very likely free if you have insurance or Medicare, and if you don’t, it costs around $100. Please contact me if you have any questions at john@goodmanwallace.com or on Instagram @seabeyondcancer.

John D. Goodman
Eagle


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