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Panelists discuss prostate cancer
By Jeff Kearns
The topic of last week's Cupertino Rotary meeting may have been a little uncomfortable for some. But that was the point.
Prostate cancer, by its very nature, isn't something that is often talked about openly. That's why City Councilwoman Sandy James, a Cupertino Rotary member, who sits on the committee that arranges speakers for the group's lunch-time meetings, brought in a panel of prostate cancer survivors to tell their stories.
Santa Clara County Undersheriff Bob Wilson, McWhorter's co-founder Steve Andrews and San Jose Mercury News columnist Leigh Weimers took turns explaining how they dealt with the disease and giving advice about it to other men.
"I believe it's not just a man's disease or a man's issue," James said. "Like the way breast cancer is not just about women."
James said she started learning about prostate cancer last year, when a friend asked her to be a caregiver, while he underwent treatment for the disease. She also said that Wilson shared his own experience with her, and offered to talk about it with others if anyone came to James.
James and the panelists stressed that although prostate cancer--and the side effects of its treatment, impotence and incontinence--make it a tough subject to talk about, that doesn't mean it's not crucial for men to know about how to detect and deal with it.
"This is not something that should be hidden and not talked about," Weimers said.
Wilson, who said he's since beaten the disease, told the audience that the hardest part of battling the disease can be getting past the psychological barriers. "Seventy-five percent of the fight I had was getting myself to believe what I had," he said. "And if you can't believe it, it can kill you."
All three panelists stressed the importance for older men to get regular PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) tests, which measure chemical reactions to infections, like cancer, in the prostate.
Andrews, too, said he was surprised by his test results, and went on to seek a second, third and fourth opinion from doctors. "It doesn't mean you're a little bit pregnant, it means you've got cancer," he said. "And it doesn't matter how healthy you are."
Weimers, who began sharing his battle with the cancer in his column last year after he was diagnosed, said his father died of prostate cancer. "It's not an exclusive club, prostate cancer," Weimers said. "We should be glad there are tests now, because there are no symptoms."
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