"You're not going to believe this, but you have cancer."

In retrospect, these may not have been the urologist's exact words when he called me on Feb. 5, 2021, but it is accurate that his surprise was as genuine as mine. Only 10 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are younger than age 55. I was 48 years old.

In April of 2021, I had a radical prostatectomy to remove my prostate and surrounding tissue. Post-surgical pathology showed that my primary tumor (there was more than one) was "Gleason 7, Stage 3," which means the cancer was moderately advanced and had escaped my prostate gland to microscopically invade my bladder neck.

Early screening and detection, plus competent treatment, saved my life.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends that men should be screened for prostate cancer beginning at age 45, with men in higher-risk categories........

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