My doctor said I didn't need to screen for prostate cancer until my 50s. I was diagnosed at 49.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eric Morrow, a prostate cancer survivor, US Air Force veteran, and volunteer advocate for Zero Prostate Cancer, a nonprofit focused on supporting patients and eliminating prostate cancer. It's been edited for length and clarity.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer on June 8, 2021, at 49. It was shortly before my 50th birthday.
I'll admit I did not know a lot about prostate cancer then. I knew it was fairly common and, to the best of my knowledge at the time, I thought it primarily affected older men in their 70s and 80s.
Five years prior, in 2016, I'd learned that my father had previously had prostate cancer and that he was in remission after being successfully treated.
So, the next time I saw my primary care physician, who was assigned to me through the Air Force, I told her about my family history and asked if I should get checked for prostate cancer.
She said that I was too young and didn't need to worry about getting screened until my 50s.
The phone call that probably saved my life
In 2020, my PCP said I was old enough to have a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer. That's when it all started.
After my colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist said my colon looked great, but my prostate looked a little enlarged, and I should schedule an appointment with a urologist.
I had no other symptoms to suggest I had prostate cancer. Also, this was during the height of the pandemic. I got distracted by work and didn't make the appointment immediately.
I was really lucky that the doctor called me back a month later to see if I'd seen the urologist. It was a really simple follow-up, but that phone call prompted me to make the appointment and probably saved my life.
My PSA level was in the hundreds
The urologist scheduled me for a digital rectal exam and an MRI, and then drew my blood for a PSA test, which measures specific proteins in the blood to identify possible prostate cancer.
I got a call a few hours later about my PSA level. I was told that anything over four would be a concern for a man of my age. My PSA level was 225.
The urologist said there could be many reasons for my extremely high PSA levels, but a later biopsy revealed that I had prostate cancer with a Gleason score, which measures how aggressive the cancer is, of nine. The highest the scale goes is 10.
I got the trifecta of treatment: surgery, radiation, and pills
I was lucky enough that the Department of Defense's Center for Prostate Disease Research at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was nearby, and my case was aggressive enough to qualify for their treatment.
There, I had a cancer team including a urologic oncologist and radiation oncologist who recommended a multi-step treatment involving surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy to turn off testosterone production in my body.
I started surgery in July 2021, after which I had issues with incontinence. Despite physical therapy to improve it, I never regained full control of my bladder. This made the radiation therapy, which came about five-and-a-half months later, very challenging.
Each time, I had to come in with an empty rectum and a full bladder. The full bladder basically pushes the rectum, so it's not as much in the field where they're going to shoot with radiation.
Each of the 39 radiation sessions I completed only lasts about 15 minutes, but I had a hard time getting my bladder full enough and then holding it long enough for the therapy.
To get through it, I'd play a game with myself: They had music going, and I would just listen to the music and try to memorize it. Then, I went on Facebook afterward and posted a list of all the songs — it became my "Playlist of the day" for friends and family.
The androgen deprivation therapy, aka hormone therapy, was a shot that I got every three months, along with pills that I was taking every day. I did this therapy for about 24 months.
The side effects were pretty harsh. I experienced hot flashes, mood swings, additional abdominal fat, loss of muscle mass and bone density, and it killed my libido. I got back into lifting weights that I hadn't been doing for probably more than a decade, and that helped minimize some of the weight gain and muscle loss.
Since coming off hormone therapy, my testosterone has luckily gone back to pre-treatment levels, and my PSA level has remained undetectable.
I quit my job after getting cancer
I wouldn't wish cancer on anybody, but the one thing it does give you is perspective. I realized I wanted to do something more.
So in December of 2022, I left my job with a medical device company I'd been with for over nine years. I was ready to give back to the prostate cancer community.
I'm now doing a lot of work on a year-round basis with Zero Prostate Cancer. I also volunteer at Walter Reed, where I received my cancer treatment.
I also speak with new prostate cancer patients and try to give them hope. I tell them, "Four years ago, I was sitting right where you are and I thought I was going to die. But I'm still here, and I'm doing OK."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Suzan Catherine Stage Suzan Stage was born Suzan Catherine
Jun. 4—Suzan Catherine Stage Suzan Stage was born Suzan Catherine Schiwart in Reno, Nevada in early 1965. She passed away on May 28, 2025. Suzan was the third of three children to Elmer "Tex" and Caroline Schiwart. She was ten years younger than her sister Cherrie, and eleven younger than her brother Steve. She graduated from Reed High School in Sparks, Nevada, a suburb of Reno, in 1983, following her father and brother into the military, joining the Nevada Air National Guard later that year. She went through Air Force Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio before transitioning to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas for her Technical Training. Having participated in church choirs through her childhood, Suzan volunteered to sing in the Special Activities Choir during her technical training. It was in choir that she met her future husband, Michael Stage. They dated for the duration of his technical training, when he left for his first assignment in England. When Suzan completed her training, she returned to Reno to begin her career with the Air National Guard. The two maintained a long-distance relationship for two years. He would call every week, and twice used his leave to travel to Reno rather than visit his family in San Diego. Suzan also flew to England to visit Michael once over the winter vacation in 1985. Suzan moved from Reno to Mesa, Arizona in 1986 when Michael transferred from England to Williams Air Force Base in the eastern region of Phoenix, joining the Arizona Air National Guard. It was only a year later they decided to marry, the ceremony taking place in Reno with family and friends in attendance. The couple had returned to Arizona, and bought their first house in Tempe in 1989. Suzan was then pregnant with their son Thomas in 1990, when Michael was reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. Suzan transferred to the Air National Guard for that state, and Thomas was born at Cannon Air Force Base. After the first Gulf War, the Air Force went through a large drawdown, and Michael left active duty and joined Suzan in the Air National Guard in 1992. The couple remained in Clovis until 1996, before moving to Albuquerque. They both eventually obtained full-time positions at the guard unit at Kirtland Air Force Base. Suzan completed many combat deployments during her military career, including Kuwait, Turkey, northern Italy, and eventually capping her 31-years with a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. Upon leaving uniformed service, Suzan continued her career by joining the U.S. Forest Service. In 2019, Suzan was diagnosed with Stage-3 Ovarian Cancer. After a hysterectomy and two rounds of chemotherapy, the doctors proclaimed that she was in remission. Nine months later, the cancer had returned, sending her through more chemotherapy. Though they had initially given her about four years to live from the initial diagnosis, Suzan fought the deadly disease for over five years. She and Mike traveled for a month to Europe, the southern states to see family and friends, took a Nile River cruise to see pyramids and temples, and spent a week in the Hawaiian Islands with friends, the highlight of which was snorkeling at night with manta rays. After an aborted clinical trial at MD Andersen in Houston, she was sent home into hospice. Nine days later she died surrounded by family and friends who had come from around the country. She is survived by her husband Mike, son Tom, and brother Steve. She was adored and loved by those who knew her. Her smile was contagious, and never more so than when performing Star Wars cosplay for the local Rebel Legion and 501st Legion. She has become one with The Force and is deeply missed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Obituary: Col. Thomas Simonet helped lead I35W bridge collapse response — and umpire vintage ‘base ball'
U.S. Air Force retired Col. Thomas Simonet lived a life of service on a global, national and local level. During his 36-year tenure in the Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves, Simonet served in places like Korea, England, Germany and Turkey. As the state's emergency preparedness liaison officer for the Air Force, Simonet spent a decade supporting Homeland Security efforts during major natural disasters or events including the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Republican National Convention and the flooding of the Red River. Simonet, of Stillwater, also helped out close to home, serving on the boards of the Washington County Historical Society, the Minnesota Air National Guard Historical Foundation, Knights of Columbus Council 1632 and the Stillwater Veterans Memorial. Simonet died May 29, 2025, of complications related to pancreatic cancer at his house in the Croixwood neighborhood — the home where he grew up. He was 70. Simonet, who served as treasurer of the Washington County Historical Society, was instrumental in the society's efforts to create the Washington County Heritage Center, which opened in 2021, said Ryan Collins, who serves as the society's vice president. Simonet 'did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to get Heritage Center ready to go,' said Collins, who also serves on the Stillwater City Council. 'There's no doubt in my mind that without Tom, it would not have happened.' Simonet, who spent 34 years with Norwest/Wells Fargo Bank before retiring in 2017 as a vice president for Institutional Retirement Trust Services, had a 'unique ability to negotiate without negotiating,' said Brent Peterson, the society's executive director. 'He was a guy who could steer a conversation in the right direction that would make everything good for everyone,' Peterson said. 'If it wasn't for Tom's financial leadership, the Washington County Heritage Center would not exist. The citizens of Washington County owe him a lot because of that. He truly was one of the finest people I've ever known.' Simonet was born and raised in Stillwater and graduated in 1972 from Stillwater High School, where he competed on the school's ski, cross-country and track teams. That same year, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, following in the footsteps of his older brother Jack, who was a a mechanic on C-124 Globemaster. 'He travelled the world,' Tom Simonet wrote in a self-published memoir. 'I received letters from Jack telling me of his adventures from Southeast Asia to Europe. He was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. To me, Hawaii was a distant and exotic land. … The draft was still in effect, and I wanted to go my direction and not have the government decide for me. I saw it as a good avenue to learn about myself and to learn a trade.' Woodbury City Council announces new city administrator Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe Ramsey County Board gets feedback on projects to be funded by Riverview Corridor money Ground is broken for next phase projects at St. Paul's Highland Bridge New Bush Foundation Fellows include amputee, journalist, architect, more After being released from active service in 1976, he served in the Minnesota Air National Guard, 133rd Airlift Wing, in St. Paul, where he served as an aircraft mechanic and advanced in rank and positions of Flight Squadron, Wing Inspector General, and Group Commander with the Minnesota Air National Guard until 2004. In 1977, he married Susan Duden; she died in 2018. The couple had two daughters. In 2022, he married Sharon McNamara. Simonet received a bachelor's degree in business from Metropolitan State University in 1983. He later received a master's degree in business administration from American Military University in 2014. Simonet finished his military career in 2014 as the state's emergency preparedness liaison officer, coordinating with local and state emergency managers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense to aid local communities when their resources become overwhelmed. One of his proudest accomplishments was helping coordinate the dive crews searching for victims after the I-35W bridge collapsed in the Mississippi River on Aug. 1, 2007, said Lisa Sjogren, his oldest daughter. A few hours before the collapse, Simonet found himself stopped in traffic on the bridge as he drove from Roseville to meet former work colleagues in Minneapolis. 'Traffic was limited to a single lane as major construction occurred on the bridge deck,' he wrote in his memoir. 'I remember stopping in the southbound traffic lane, waiting to move forward. I felt the car bouncing as the northbound traffic was moving. I was relieved to get off that bridge.' Simonet and Sjogren were at Simonet's brother's house in St. Paul when they got the news. 'His phone just went insane,' said Sjogren, of Elk River. 'He literally set up a command where we were. He was calling saying, 'I need divers, I need this, I need these people. Do we have medical support? Where are we sending them to? We have trauma, right? What can we provide?' All this stuff that an emergency comes with.' Simonet helped coordinate the National Guard and Reserve flying units 'to offload the diver's equipment and transport it to a staging area near the fallen bridge,' he wrote. 'The Hennepin County Sheriff requested a group of specialized U.S. Navy divers. He had told the Secretary of Transportation that his divers were going into areas beyond their capabilities, and a group of professional deep water divers was needed to continue the search. They were still looking for the missing 13 victims. 'As I look back on that day, I always think of the school bus full of children that ended up just behind the semi-trailer where the driver lost his life,' he wrote. 'When the bridge collapsed, the school bus dropped. Once it was safe, all the children climbed over the guardrail. … They ended up during this disaster at the perfect spot. I am thankful they were not one second further in their travels. In my firm belief, the mighty hand of God helped on that terrible day.' Simonet received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal, among many other commendations. In 2024, he was recognized for his service and contributions by the Minnesota Air National Guard at the Flight of Honor Ceremony honoring those who have 'demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, service and heroism and have left a lasting impact on the organization.' March 25, 2025, was declared 'Tom Simonet Day' in Stillwater in recognition of his 'lifetime of community service.' One of Simonet's great joys was serving as the umpire for the St. Croix Base Ball Club, which plays by 1860 rules, Sjogren said. The 19th-century rules include: no wearing of gloves; no balls or strikes called by the umpire; foul balls are not considered strikes; and base runners can be tagged out if they overrun first base. As umpire, it was Simonet's job to start each inning by calling 'Striker to the line!' to bid the striker (batter) to the line – a line drawn through the center of the home base. 'He loved saying 'Striker to the line,' even when he got sick,' Sjogren said. 'When he couldn't be out at the base ball games, I took the phone and stuck the phone by the players, and then my dad just yelled into the phone, 'Striker to the line!'' Simonet also loved playing cribbage, boating on the St. Croix River and outsmarting claw machines. Woodbury City Council announces new city administrator 'Felt as though they were going to kill me,' Mahtomedi man beaten and robbed of casino winnings says in court New Bush Foundation Fellows include amputee, journalist, architect, more Air quality alert extended to noon Wednesday throughout Minnesota New MN measles cases confirmed, including Dakota County child who had not traveled 'He was the master of the claw machine that you would see at places like Perkins restaurants,' said Sarah Sederstrom, his youngest daughter. 'He had master-level precision, and he always won. Anytime he did win, he'd give the prize to a kid nearby.' 'I am convinced he was a surgeon in a previous life because of his precision with those things,' Sjogren said. In addition to his wife and daughters, Simonet is survived by two grandsons, a stepdaughter and two step-grandchildren. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Stillwater, with visitation from 4-8 p.m. Sunday at Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Smaller Version Of Quicksink Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Tested By USAF
The U.S. Air Force says it has tested a modified 500-pound-class GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, optimized for use as an anti-ship munition as part of its Quicksink program. The service has already demonstrated a 2,000-pound-class Quicksink bomb, and the new version could offer a valuable lower-cost anti-ship weapon that bombers and tactical jets could also carry more of on a single sortie. At the same time, there are questions about the exact scope of maritime targets that a Quicksink GBU-38 might be effective against. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced the test of the GBU-38-based Quicksink munition today, but did not say when exactly it had occurred. A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber dropped the weapon over the Gulf Test Range, which the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida manages. The Air Force first unveiled the Quicksink program in 2021 after a test of the 2,000-pound-class type, which is a modified GBU-31/B JDAM. 'This new 500-pound [Quicksink] variant expands the B-2's targeting capabilities, providing combatant commanders with an expanded complement of innovative warfighting solutions,' a press release from AFRL states. 'A collaborative effort between Air Force Materiel Command's Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Air Force Test Center (AFTC), and Air Combat Command's 53rd Wing enabled execution of the Quicksink live-fire tests.' How much the 500-pound-class Quicksink munition may differ from the 2,000-pound-class type is not immediately clear. Typical JDAMs consist of a low-drag bomb body combined with a new tail section that contains a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package, as well as clamp-on aerodynamic strakes. JDAM kits exist for 1,000-pound-class bombs, as well as 500 and 2,000-pound-class types. JDAMs, which can only hit static targets, can be built around various types of unguided bombs, including general-purpose high explosive and bunker-buster types. At least when it comes to the 2,000-pound-class version, the Quicksink bomb combines the JDAM kit with a new imaging infrared seeker fitted to the nose. The Air Force has said in the past that the resulting munition, which is capable of engaging moving targets, navigates to a designated area first via GPS-assisted INS before switching over to the seeker. The weapon then finds and categorizes the target by checking its length against a detailed internal reference database. The seeker then provides additional course correction data to put the bomb on a path where it is intended to detonate right next to the target ship's hull, just below the waterline. Initial cueing to the target, which the launch platform or offboard sources could provide, is required. The computer-generated video below depicts a full engagement cycle. The GBU-31-based Quicksink munition already presented a notably lower-cost option for engaging enemy ships, especially compared to traditional air-launched anti-ship cruise missiles. JDAM kits cost around $85,000, with the unguided bombs that they are paired with adding a minimal increase to the overall price tag. AFRL has said in the past that each Quicksink seeker unit costs around $200,000, and that the goal was to drive that price point down to some $50,000 as production ramped up. For comparison, the unit cost for the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), the U.S. military's premier air-launched anti-ship cruise missile, is around $3 million. Past U.S. military cost data has also pegged the price point of current generation AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles at around $1.4 million. A GBU-38-based Quicksink munition also offers important magazine depth benefits for both bombers and tactical jets. A B-2 like the one used in the latest Quicksink test can carry up to a whopping 80 500-pound-class JDAMs on a single sortie. Loadouts for F-15E Strike Eagles, which have also been used extensively in past Quicksink testing, can often include up to nine GBU-38s. Strike Eagles have also been test loaded with as many as 15 500-pound-class JDAMs, but not necessarily with the intention to drop them all during a single mission, as you can read more about here. As a comparison, F-15Es have also been tested loaded with five AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles, from which the LRASM is derived. Smaller jets like the F-16 Viper, which have more limited payload capacity overall, could also benefit greatly from access to a 500-pound-class anti-ship weapon. For instance, a typical anti-ship loadout for the Viper today includes just two Harpoons. Any increased magazine depth translates to more engagement opportunities per sortie for an individual aircraft. It also means more munitions are available during a mission to employ against a single target, which could help overwhelm enemy point defenses. For years now, there has been great interest within the Air Force and elsewhere across the U.S. military in new, lower-cost precision bombs and missiles, in general, particularly amid planning for a potential future high-end fight across the Pacific against China. Acquiring cheaper precision munitions as complements to more exquisite types is seen as essential for ensuring stockpiles are sufficiently full before such a conflict breaks out, and also to help replenish them in the event of protracted fighting. Lessons learned from recent U.S. operations in and around the Middle East, as well as observations from the ongoing war in Ukraine, have only validated this viewpoint and provided new impetus for programs like Quicksink. The prospect of a large-scale conflict in the Pacific has also driven a broad push across America's armed forces to expand anti-ship capabilities and capacity across the board, again with capabilities like Quicksink. It's also interesting to note here that Quicksink seeker technology is already known to have migrated to the Air Force's separate Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) effort. ERAM has been centered on the development of a low-cost cruise missile, primarily for Ukraine's armed forces. At the same time, though far lower cost than something like the AGM-158C, modified JDAMs do not offer anywhere near the same standoff range capability to help keep the launch platform away from threats. A low-observable (stealth) platform like a B-2 or an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) would have added the ability to bring Quicksink munitions closer to their intended targets with lower risk (but not no risk) in the face of limited defenses. Non-stealthy aircraft could use Quicksink munitions to help finish off damaged small surface combatants with already degraded defenses, or employ them against targets that are less-well-defended, or even essentially defenseless, to begin with. These could include vital sealift assets and civilian cargo vessels pressed into military service. Hitting ships at anchor in port or other littoral areas, especially if they are densely congregations, could be another application for Quicksink. Wing kits that can extend the range of JDAMs from around 15 miles up to 45 miles, depending on the weapon's exact configuration and release envelope, also exist. The JDAM-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) is now a combat-proven capability as a result of their employment by Ukraine's Air Force in recent years. However, this is something the U.S. military has curiously not invested significantly in for its own use. Quickstrike-ER air-launched naval mines, which leverage the JDAM-ER kit, are the only example of this capability known to be in American service today. JDAM prime contractor Boeing has also been developing a cruise missile derivative, or Powered JDAM (PJDAM), which you can learn more about here. The 2,000-pound-class Quicksink bomb has at least demonstrated its ability to sink a civilian-type cargo ship, but the smaller size of the new version might present limitations in terms of effectiveness. At the same time, it is worth noting that 500-pound-class Quickstrike mines are in service now, and are expected to detonate further away from a target's hull. The magazine depth benefits of the GBU-38-based Quicksink munition also means that a single aircraft could more readily release a salvo of the bombs at a ship for increased effect. There are smaller maritime assets, including landing craft and other types of ship-to-shore connectors, that Quicksink bombs based on the GBU-38 could be used against, as well. Overall, Quicksink bombs offer a way to help free up weapons like LRASM for use against targets that demand higher-end capabilities to tackle. The Air Force is clearly interested in the potential cost and other benefits that a 500-pound-class version of the Quicksink anti-ship munition could offer, and more details about its capabilities may now begin to emerge. Contact the author: joe@
