Another free screening and PSA update

My church had another one of its monthly men's fellowships with another annual prostate health screening on November 1. As I was walking in my pastor wanted me to come sit by him and share a few words with the brothers about my survival and to encourage them, which is what I always look forward to. My own PSA checks are now at 6-month periods. I'm not due for another check until February 09 but why not do it since they're here for free? My results came back about 2-3 weeks later and I'm still undetectable!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! The number was <0.04 which was the normal PSA lab test that the hospital does in their own lab. I normally get the "ultra-sensitive" test done that goes out to the thousandths place. But, good report anyway! Now I need to work on my cholesterol. My bad cholesterol was good, but my good cholesterol showed a little low. Need to work on that.


After the screening I had the chance to talk with another brother who tested positive as a result of the same free screening. He was not from my fellowship, but was screened by the same hospital. I was called by the prostate screening program coordinator (again) and given the information. As others, the brother had a few questions about surgery options and post-surgery concerns. It does my heart good to inform and encourage other men with my experience. Please feel free to email me any questions or concerns that you may have about prostate cancer. I don't know everything, but I know enough and will find out more for anyone if I need to.


I would strongly encourage men who belong to churches or any other local organizations to rally together and have some health fairs and screenings. Get with your local hospitals and see if they offer free prostate screening programs. Many lives can be saved with early detection of this disease. What's that old saying? "What you don't know can't hurt you." What a lie! Many think that if they don't know then it can't affect them. Most of us men are just dumb like that (me included). I can just imagine how many men, especially African American men, who are just walking around day by day with prostate cancer in their bodies and just don't know it because there are no symptoms at first. There's another old saying that's a better one: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." Just because you don't know about it doesn't make it go away or not exist. Brothers, GET SCREENED NOW before it becomes too late!!! Prostate cancer doesn't wait for you to find out about it before it starts to grow. Give that some thought.

E. D.

Ok, I've put this one off long enough. This is the one area (along with incontinence) that guys don't even want to think about, let alone experience. These are also the reasons (E. D. and incontinence) most guys put off treatment after they have been diagnosed. Putting it off is not the answer. Would you rather be incontinent with E. D. and cured – or dead??? Sorry for being so blunt, but this is a reality among men and their fear of treatment. However, it's a reality for prostate cancer post-surgery. When the prostate is removed, there are nerves which contribute to the erectile function that have to be severed. You can speak with your surgeon and request that he do "nerve sparing" during the procedure. But, this is something that is still unavoidable. Yet, thanks to modern medicine, it is treatable! As many of you know there are a few well-known prescriptions out there that assist in "overcoming" E. D. when necessary. Each man should consult with his urologist to find out what works best for him. There are even a few other solutions beyond the pills that are available. So, for all my married brothers who have to be treated for prostate cancer – it ain't over! There is hope and there is help. Talk to your urologist or if you'd like shoot me an email and I can explain further. I'll save the details for the one-on-one conversations. I'm not endorsing any one particular medication, but I can help with what I know. Again, brothers, it ain't over!!!

6 months later and another PSA!

Hey, folks! It's been 6 months since my last PSA test. I had another one on August 27 and I just received the results in the mail. Survey says: 0.013! Yahoo! Praise the LORD again for even more grace and mercy!!! I truly don't deserve it!


Like always, this is the "ultrasensitive" PSA performed by the Siemens Immulite Chemiluminescent Assay (as used by Methodist Hospital - Dallas). The who??? I'm not for certain what kind of contraption that is. I don't have all of the information on it just yet. When I gather the proper info I'll provide a link in another post. But, as a reminder, the ultrasensitive test produces a number that reads in the thousandths, where as the normal PSA test reads in the hundredths. For the normal PSA, if you have had your prostate removed the result should read < or = 0.05. The ultrasensitive test provides a more "accurate" reading.


I'm humbled and highly thankful to my Lord for another good report!!!

Blue-spangled banner! (and another challenge)

Since mid-March, I've been invited to have a table at a couple of healthfairs. I thought I'd kick it up a notch and get a banner made rather than just have the t-shirt and materials on the table. I designed it and uploaded the file to a local vendor that specializes in large-format printing and they had it ready for me in 2 days. The total size is 2' wide by 5' tall. I'll be ready for the next few healthfairs if I'm ever invited.


I had some great opportunities to speak with a few guys about getting themselves checked on a regular basis while telling them about my experience. Many were shocked when I told them my age. The funniest thing is to see some guys look down at my table as they walk by and keep going because THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! They're afraid to discuss it because they make a big issue about the "finger" check, but don't realize that the digital rectal exam is a very minor part of the check up. Getting the finger up your rear is the least of your worries compared to having prostate cancer and not even knowing it when you have no symptoms! What's the old saying? What you don't know can't hurt you. What a big lie!!! What you don't know can and will kill you if you do nothing about it!!! Man up and go to the doctor, brothers!!! Take the finger and get your blood checked for the PSA! Remember, there are no symptoms with early detection. If you have symptoms or if the urologist feels a hardness on your prostate, then it's possibly advanced. Why wait?????

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

That's right, folks! Just to show how serious I am about my testimony and spreading the knowledge about prostate cancer survival, I had my own t-shirt made. My good friend and Christian brother Gerald, who has his own screen printing business, made 2 shirts for me - and blessed me by not charging a dime!!! I purchased the shirt and provided the art. He provided the other shirt, which is a light blue ringer T (dark blue trim on neck and sleeve), and it has dark blue print - same art. (Thanks to my beautiful wife for taking the pics!)

Part Seventeen: PSA update!

Last Thursday (2.28.08) I went to see my urologist for the first 6-month visit (after doing it every 2 - 3 months) for another PSA blood check. My beautiful, loving, anxious wife called this week (just 3 days later) to get the results. My current PSA reading is 0.017 - still undetectable!!!!!! Praise the LORD for His grace!!!!! Now, it's just a little higher than the last one 6 months ago, which was 0.011 and 3 months before that it was 0.012. But, still undetectable since it's equal to or less than 0.05! My next PSA check is in August and I will post the results then!

Part Sixteen: Prostate Cancer Advocates Conference

Early in February, I flew to Atlanta to attend an African American Men's Prostate Cancer Advocates Conference (whew! what a mouthful!). It was held on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, which is in the same area of Morehouse, Morris Brown, and Spelman - a pretty historic location! The goal of this conference was to raise awareness about the growing number of African American men who get diagnosed with prostate cancer more than any other race. There were approximately 30-40 attendees - most of which were survivors/advocates. There were also individuals who are involved in cancer research, oncology, and pharmaceuticals. For the goal of raising awareness, we decided to come up with a name, logo, and marketing campaign to spread the word about prostate cancer and encourage more research and greater national/global awareness. As some said, there is so much awareness about breast cancer and AIDS/HIV - and rightly so. There's just not enough research and awareness about prostate cancer, especially in finding out why so many African American men get it more than others. Since I'm a graphic designer and work in the field of communications, I let them know that the names that they were coming up with were way too long and just not punchy. I assured the guys and gals that I would come up with a name and logo/identity that would help get some attention. Actually, I had a name already that came to me in one of the earlier sessions. Little did I know that they would want to actually pursue a brand for this. I truly believe that what came to me was a gift inspired from the Lord. Now I just need to finish my report and designs to market it to the group and pray that they love it. I will post my finished concept and their responses when the time comes. (Click image above to view larger version. Special thanks to our bus driver for taking the pic for me!)