Milwaukee resident Unis Matthews maintains a positive attitude after battling both prostate and breast cancers.
Unis Matthews is no stranger to cancer. As an advocate, a fighter and a survivor, he knows all about breast cancer and prostate cancer because he lived through them both.
“I wasn’t afraid to talk to people and I wasn’t afraid to tell them what was going on because that’s the thing to do,” Matthews says. “Spreading it around, you get feedback with what you can do, who you can follow up with and the support. The support is the main thing you can do to help yourself.”
Matthews has become comfortable talking about his health problems with friends and family. He felt he needed the thoughts and prayers of people in his community to help heal him.
“People I don’t even know were praying for me,” Matthews says. “It makes you feel very important, and it helps you to stay on the positive side of getting yourself healed.”
But it’s not just the breast cancer and prostate cancer combination that sets Matthews apart from other men. His very willingness to talk about it makes him unique.
“Prostate cancer is to men as breast cancer is to women, but men are very different than women. They go very public,” says Dan Zenka, vice president of communications for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. “Men tend to shut down. Many times, they won’t even discuss much with their families, and it’s partly because it’s a disease below the belt.”
Those cultural cues affect all aspects of cancer care, beginning with the point of detection.
“I think to a certain extent men tend to be less proactive about their health,” says Dr. David Jarrard, a urologic surgeon specializing in prostate cancer at the UW Hospital. “Especially in the middle years, men tend to go years without a checkup while with women, they go for their yearly gynecological exam.”
How common is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is even more common in men than breast cancer is in women. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the United States, affecting one out of every six men.
This means in 2009, a staggering 192,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease and more than 27,000 will die from it. So why don’t men seem more concerned about prostate cancer?
According to Dr. Carl Olson, chairman of the radiation oncology department at Columbia-St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee, media coverage may be to blame for this lack of awareness.
“We’ve all seen the significant importance of breast cancer specifically,” Olson says. “Breast cancer is lucky [it has] received treatment. Male cancers haven’t been as strongly investigated for whatever reason.”
Douglas McNeel, associate professor at the UW Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, agrees. He believes prostate cancer receives less funding than breast cancer. McNeel admits Midwestern men are not as aware of the disease and it is an issue that needs work.
Screening
Remember that episode of Family Guy where Peter goes for a prostate exam and ends up suing his doctor? Even though the storyline is purely fictional, the show doesn’t exaggerate the discomfort men may actually feel during their prostate cancer screening.
“Screening involves a blood test and a digital rectal exam,” Olson says. “I haven’t found any men yet that have begged for a digital rectal exam.”
Since screening is not the most comfortable process, men will also wait too long to get tested for colorectal and prostate cancer. Olson says the tests are also controversial.
Unlike breast cancer, some data shows screening does not save lives because prostate cancer is not always lethal.
Both harmful types of prostate cancer and non-threatening types exist. Men can live many years with certain types and not be harmed, while other types can lead to serious health problems, Olson says. Currently, no screening technology exists to recognize which type a man has.
Aside from those who simply do not want to get tested, many men do not think they need to because they feel they are not at risk. While Olson recommends most men start getting screened at age 50, he urges some men to get screened earlier.
He says certain groups should be more aware of the risk of prostate cancer, including men with first-degree relatives, such as a father or brother, with prostate cancer. Men with relatives diagnosed at a young age have an even higher risk.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation says African-American men are 61 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men. On the other hand, prostate cancer occurs less often in Hispanic and Asian-American men than in Caucasian men, according to the American Cancer Society. The reasons for all of these racial predispositions remain unclear.
Despite these exceptions, Zenka explains that about 65 percent of the men afflicted with prostate cancer are over the age of 60.
So why should younger men care?
Matthews received his diagnosis before age 60. Despite this irregularity, he received treatment and has no more issues with prostate cancer.
According to Jarrard, the health patterns you develop in your younger years may influence the risk of developing cancer later in life. These patterns include factors such as diet, exercise and smoking. While no one knows exactly how these lifestyle changes can directly affect prostate cancer risk, McNeel believes “it’s just good common sense.”
After the health problems he encountered, Matthews says he and his wife became more careful with what they put into their bodies. They try to stay up-to-date with the healthiest foods and blend them into their diets.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation website lists a nutrition and exercise guide with a number of healthy recommendations. The site also includes risks factors for prostate cancer, such as being overweight and eating over-charred meats, which has shown to lead to prostate growth.
Jarrard emphasizes the dangerous effect the Western diet has on the development of cancer. He suggests a diet low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables.
“Recent studies show your risk of cancer is less for men who do routine exercise in their middle years,” Jarrard says. “It shows obviously something is going on there that affects the later years.”
What about testing?
If you are concerned you may have prostate cancer or want to get tested, there are plenty of hospitals in Wisconsin that provide specialized treatment and screenings.
Columbia-St. Mary’s offers free prostate cancer screenings. In addition, Olson says the hospital provides vans for people without access to transportation. He finds the Milwaukee area especially fortunate to have many exceptional cancer-care centers and believes no one would go untreated because they don’t have access to care.
“A lot of doctors will provide care without insurance and not expect to be paid,” Olson says. “I never ask my patients if they have insurance or what kind. … I think it’s an example of what’s being done in this community.”
How can I take action?
Even after a diagnosis of prostate cancer, it is never too late to become more proactive. Matthews lives his life this way. Once a month, he helps people get medical support and gives speeches about both breast and prostate cancer.
“What I can say is, with the men, I’ve tried to continually encourage men to get their annual physical, keep themselves toned to their own body and get [health problems] taken care of,” he says.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has a number of ways to get men more involved in fighting prostate cancer. The Foundation sponsors an event in November called Movember, which is a movement aimed to raise money for prostate cancer and depression. Men grow mustaches to raise funds, and after only three years the event has raised about $20 million.
What’s new with prostate cancer?
Researchers in Wisconsin constantly develop new treatments for prostate cancer. Olson says clinical trials are important because that is how progress is made.
According to McNeel, as a result of clinical trials, a vaccine should emerge in the next year to help extend the lives of men with prostate cancer.
“There are a number of oral treatments developing that will help people live longer,” McNeel says. “There’s a lot of hope and a lot of promise I would say.”
Aside from these treatments, men have the option of prostate surgery. A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows both pros and cons of minimally invasive prostate surgery, leading some to believe it is not necessarily the procedure performed but the skill of the surgeon that is integral to the outcome.
Whatever the chosen treatment, Olson says he thinks Wisconsin men should feel fortunate to be near such high-quality cancer centers. They should also remain aware of these centers, as the number of men afflicted with prostate cancer is expected to increase.
Since men now live to an older age and prostate cancer is a disease of older men, Jarrard expects the number of people with prostate cancer to continue rising.
However, Olson, Jarrard, McNeel and even Matthews are all hopeful men will be more aware and the incidence of prostate cancer will decrease. Olson feels especially strong about cancer prevention, even though his job depends on it.
“I would be the happiest guy in the world if I never have to treat another man for cancer,” he says. “I’d find something else to do.”