Prostate test helped detect cancer.

"There is no way I can have cancer! My mom and dad never had cancer, neither did any of my grandparents, nor my two brothers. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol. No way that I could have cancer," I said over and over with great confidence.

This is a story about how wrong one can be about cancer, about the great groups of health care professionals in our Alamo City, and how you cannot make assumptions about cancer.

Yes, I have cancer — prostate cancer. It’s a disease that has been grabbing a lot of bold headlines recently.

Thanks to Betsy Higgins Henk, I signed up for the SABOR (San Antonio Center of Biomarkers of Risk) program in March 2001. That research effort, concentrating on prostate cancer and led by Dr. Ian Thompson of the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, has been tracking the prostate health of thousands of men for more than 10 years. They provided me with my PSA (Prostate-Specific-Antigen) numbers every year. Over that period, I blithely watched my PSA numbers climb from 2.8 to above 9.

Dr. Leroy A. Jones, of Urology of San Antonio, shocked me into action last August. He wrote: "PSA value 9.59. Your PSA continues to rise, and I think it fairly clear that you have prostate cancer. As we discussed, you will lose your opportunity to be clear of this disease once the cancer escapes the prostate." Frankly, that blunt advice stunned me into asking for a prostate biopsy by Dr. Thompson.

I indeed had prostate cancer, with a Gleason score of 7 (3+4), and it was definitely time for action after watching my PSA climb over those 10 years. Some people say the PSA test is not the best way to determine if you have prostate cancer, but in my case, it worked. It told me and the health care professionals watching over me what they needed to know. It was like a big yellow flag being waved at a motor sports event!

By the way, the prostate biopsy itself is no big deal, and it was, for me, absolutely painless. Most men won’t believe that, but it’s true.

After some research and study, I decided on an advanced external beam Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy treatment by Dr. Chul Ha of the UTHSC. Forty-two treatments of 7,800 rads of total radiation therapy concentrated on my prostate gland, and I am now waiting for the results from all that.

What’s the bottom line message here?

First, we have fantastic teams of health care professionals in our community, and I personally thank each one of them immensely.

Second, in my case, the PSA numbers increasing each time clearly indicated to the pros that I had cancer, even though I continued to bury my head at the thought.

Third, as a typical Texan who believes that very little can stop me when I set my mind to it, this disease can creep up on you, and it’s serious. No kidding!

Be aware. We can be macho, fellows, but we are not invincible! Get tested, and act, if need be!

Bruce Mabrito works at Southwest Research Institute, wrote motor sports columns for both the San Antonio Light and the Express-News for 20 years, and still likes to pilot race cars at the limit.