I am a prostate cancer survivor. My story is important for all men to consider as they progress into their 50s. In many ways it is the opposite of the course taken by President Biden, who is now confronted by a cancer that has metastasized into his bones, foreshadowing a grim and painful next period that did not have to be.
I come from a family that has a history of prostate cancer. My father was diagnosed in his mid-70s, had surgery to remove his prostate only to find that the cancer had escaped the gland into the immune system. He had to go through a painful course of radiation that weakened him for two years. My uncle and my cousin also had prostate cancer. From age 50 onwards, I was careful to do an annual PSA test.
My PSA began to creep up when I turned 52, from 2 to 4 in Gleason score. I went to a specialist who prescribed a biopsy. The result was negative. I then had another PSA six months later and found that my score had moved up to 6. The same specialist counseled watchful waiting. That is not my specialty, so I changed my doctor.
I was able to book a new technique for biopsy, guided by MRI. Lo and behold, the biopsy found cancer and a very fast-growing type. Picking myself off the floor, I went to work to investigate treatment options. At one unforgettable session in Boston, a specialist in chemical treatment of the disease prescribed “chemical castration.” I proceeded to a bar for a liquid lunch.
Another specialist told me that I should have radioactive seeds put into my prostate that would stop the progress of the disease. He did acknowledge that at a later stage; the treatment causes problems with bowel obstruction and impotence.
I found Dr. Peter Scardino at Memorial Sloan Kettering, who prescribed a prostatectomy, or removal of the prostate. He told me that I would have a six-inch scar from belly button to pubic bone. I would have to wear a bag for three weeks for urine removal. He did tell me that I would be done with the cancer forever if he did his job well. I remember walking to the operating room in a surgical gown, looking longingly at the window at the end of the corridor, and thinking that I would like to be Peter Pan, flying to Neverland. Now I am seventeen years later, cancer free and incredibly grateful to my caregivers.
Here's what I would have done differently in President Biden’s shoes. I would have continued having a PSA reading annually. It turns out that he never took a PSA test while he was in the Oval Office. According to reports, his last screening was in 2014 when he was 71. There are MDs who say that after 70 years old, you should just forget about a PSA test because you will die of something else. The problem with that theory is the ten percent of men who get prostate cancer and are diagnosed only when it has spread to the bones. I would also have continued to question my MD and changed the specialist. The patient has the right to get different views of the case; I do wake up in a cold sweat once every few years when I remember the advice of the Boston specialist for chemical castration, now the fate of President Biden.
One final point; I told my Edelman colleagues exactly what was happening before I went into surgery. I told them that I would be back after a few weeks of recuperation. I am so glad that I was transparent about my condition because it enabled my team to run the show while I took naps and built back my strength. My disclosure also led dozens of other men to seek my advice when their turn came to confront the specter of prostate cancer.
I wish President Biden only the best in his fight against this disease. His failing was over-reliance on his physician’s advice to stop taking a simple PSA blood test.
Richard Edelman is CEO.
