Prostate Cancer Patient Stories

At 73, I’m totally invested in my health and vigilant about keeping up with my doctors’ visits. When I went to my primary care physician in 2020, he alerted me that my PSA level was up, an indication that I had a problem with my prostate. I know the normal range is from 1 to 4. Mine was 5.2. “We’ll take another PSA down the road,” the doctor said. We did another one, and that was 5.6.

Nineteen years ago, just after I turned 60, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I had noticed some blood in my urine, and the first doctor I talked to told me not to worry about it. Then over the next few months it got worse, and I decided to go to Fox Chase Cancer Center.

I’ve always been fastidious about getting my annual physical and bloodwork. Even in 2020, when COVID kept us all at home, I did a telemedicine visit. Of course, I couldn’t get bloodwork, but since I felt perfectly healthy, I just waited until my annual 2021 exam.

Believe it or not, my prostate cancer journey started with a tingly toe.

I turned 69 in October 2020, and soon after, my right big toe started tingling. I thought it could be an early sign of arthritis—I did martial arts when I was younger, which I figured could be the cause—so I went to see my doctor.

It all started 10 years ago, when I was 66 years old. I went for my annual physical, and when my doctor got the test results back, she told me my urine had microscopic drops of blood in it. She wanted me to see a urologist, so she set me up with someone at my local hospital. It was just supposed to be a consult.

Unbeknownst to me, and without consulting my primary care physician, this urologist did a biopsy of my prostate when he examined me. I didn’t know what he was doing, I only knew it was very uncomfortable.