Prostate cancer support group promotes frequent testing
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on August 24, 2024.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com With Prostate Cancer Awareness month in September just around the corner, the Medicine Hat Prostate Cancer Support Group is reaching out to stress the importance of frequent testing. For one member of the group, Butch Hiltz, a regular blood test meant early detection, which may have saved his life. “The first time that they brought it up was just before COVID,” said Hintz. He explained that a routine blood test had noticed elevated PSA, or prostate-specific antigen levels, which is often an early warning sign. While he was not yet cancerous, said Hiltz, he was instructed to come back in six months. This was significantly delayed however, by the pandemic. “Two years later, when the doctors were back in operation again, I went back in and my health nurse said, ‘look at this. Here, your PSA level is at 7.2’ she says. Which means I’ve got prostate cancer,” said Hiltz. Hiltz was then informed that it was early enough in progression to treat, as it hadn’t progressed into his bones. “They said I had five years if I did nothing, and 20 or more if I got it treated,” said Hiltz. “I wanted to see my nephew get married someday, so I went ahead and got my prostate removed; I could have done radiation, but if radiation doesn’t work, you can’t go back and get it removed, but you can get radiation if the surgery doesn’t get rid of it.” Fortunately, the surgery, which was conducted in Calgary, was a success, and Hiltz is now happily cancer free. He continues to attend a support group for men who have experienced the condition. Medicine Hat’s group is roughly 110 men, most of whom have beat cancer, said Philip Buisseret, chairman of the Medicine Hat Prostate Cancer Support Group. They work to provide informational kits to those who are freshly diagnosed, as well as emotional support and encouragement to each other and those earlier in their journey. He continued that the sense of community can be deeply important for many of these men, as having a space to talk about their options, as well as realities and side effects of treatment, can help make a serious and frightening diagnosis easier to cope with. One in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, said Buisseret, which if not caught early enough, can often be fatal. He stressed the importance of taking charge of one’s own health, and seeing a physician regularly, as early detection is key to survival. This was a sentiment echoed by Hiltz, who credits the routine blood test and subsequent early detection for giving him the chance to take action against his cancer. “Back when I hit about 40, that’s when I started going and having regular checkups. That’s when I found out I was diabetic. And just when COVID was hitting, that was the first time that my PSA started to show numbers,” said Hiltz. “Because I went for regular checkups, I found out early on. And that was the big thing.” Buisseret recommends men over the age of 45 go for regular physicals and be sure to request a PSA test as part of their blood screening. These tests may be advisable earlier if there is a family history of prostate cancer, as it can be hereditary, which was the case for Hiltz. 15-14
