“i felt like this was something that happened to older men”
a fit triathlete in midlife, don konantz never imagined he’d face a diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer. a decade later, he’s an advocate for staying on top of your prostate health.
4 minute read
“this is not a man’s disease,” says don konantz (left), seen here with his son will. “it’s a family disease that occurs in men and affects everyone.” supplied
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one year after don konantz was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2011, his teenage son will and a friend rode their bikes from london, ont., to vancouver, raising $257,000 for prostate cancer research. it was will’s way of getting involved in his father’s diagnosis. for konantz, it was an act of optimism during an extremely difficult time. “it really raised the spirits of men like me, suffering from an affliction that affects so many men and their families.”
konantz was 48 when he went through a battery of tests after falling ill on a business trip. while everything came back negative, his psa levels remained stubbornly high.
a subsequent biopsy showed he had advanced prostate cancer. “it was earth-shattering for someone my age who was fit — a triathlete, a non-smoker, and married to a dietician,” he says. “i felt like it happened to older men. but suddenly i was facing something that had to be dealt with right away.”
post-surgery, konantz learned the cancer had invaded his lymphatic system. “i went from worrying about a local problem to a systemic one,” he says. “what i thought was a sprint turned into a marathon.”
“i felt like it happened to older men. but suddenly i was facing something that had to be dealt with right away.” – don konantz
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he was especially concerned about the impact on his family, including his sons. “it’s been 12 years since he first told us about his diagnosis,” says will, who now works with his father in the family hops business. “it was always like a monster in the closet; you know it’s there. it changed all our lives in a huge way.”
prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among canadian men, and is the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in men in canada,
the best way to detect prostate cancer is a prostate-specific antigen (psa) test, says dr. ricardo rendon, a urological oncologist and vice-president of education at the canadian urological association. “most patients who have prostate cancer present in the asymptomatic stage. when the cancer is at an advanced stage, it can cause symptoms such as bone pain and weight loss.”
screening with psa is recommended for men starting at age 45, says dr. rendon. “if they have a higher risk, such as a family history of prostate or breast cancer, or patients with african ancestry, for example, we recommend starting at age 40. depending on the numbers, testing should be done every one to four years,” he explains.
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for men with more advanced stages of prostate cancer, new prostate-specific membrane antigen (psma) imaging technology can help pinpoint the cancer. according to dr. fred saad, professor and chief of urology at the university of montreal hospital centre (chum), a psma pet scan can be used to learn more about the cancer and inform how to move forward with disease management. “this advanced imaging modality helps us visualize where cancer is, especially when there are concerns it may have spread outside of the prostate.”
during the scanning process, a patient is injected with a radioactive substance that binds to the psma usually found on prostate cancer cells.
“psa testing simply gives a high or low reading but will not confirm metastases,” explains dr. rendon. “the psma test ‘lights up’ wherever there is prostate cancer, whether it’s in the bones, liver, lymph nodes, etc. the reason it is so good is that it can detect abnormalities much earlier, versus regular bone scans, cat scans, or mris, so we can more accurately stage patients and determine next steps.”
konantz compares psma scanning to night vision for helicopter pilots. “psma screening is a real game-changer
to help people deal with advanced prostate cancer. in my case, it found cancer in my spine, so we were able to eradicate it with radiation.”
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in the 12 years since konantz was first diagnosed, he has continued to manage his business, although will does most of the travelling. over that time, he says many men have talked to him about their own experience with prostate cancer. “i tell everyone, including my sons, to find the information you need and stay vigilant, especially now that we have a family history. you need to find the cancer before it finds you. early detection is very, very important, especially if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.”
will acknowledges the impact of a parent’s cancer diagnosis on the younger generation can be a heavy burden. but throughout his father’s illness, he’s seen the benefit of talking openly about prostate health. “there seems to be a willingness to break the stigma, to talk about it,” he says. “younger people need to get involved and spearhead raising awareness.”
not having regular screening tests or physical exams does such a massive disservice to men and their families, says konantz. “i always say, this is not a man’s disease. it’s a family disease that occurs in men and affects everyone.”
this story was created by content works, postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of a research-based pharmaceutical company
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