Prostate cancer diagnoses renew calls for early screening and awareness

Prostate cancer diagnoses renew calls for early screening and awareness

Terrance Jones was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 47 with no symptoms, highlighting the importance of early screening, especially as former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis brings renewed attention to the disease.

CHICAGO - Former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis is a reminder of the importance of screening for prostate cancer. If caught early, the disease is treatable and the outcomes are a lot better than they were five or 10 years ago.

"After I had the test, I went home. And then the next day she called me and I knew like, wait a minute, I don't get, you know, this is weird. Like, why is someone calling me from Northwestern?"

What they're saying:

Terrance Jones was only 47 at the time and had no symptoms. He learned of his prostate cancer diagnosis during a zoom Bible study. A moment he says revealed a deeper mission.

"I didn't understand because it was, again, kind of scary, but I did what I felt he was telling me to do," said Jones. "I really think this is why I'm sitting here talking to you today, because he needed me to experience this. Then he knew that I'd talk about it and get to a point where I could use this experience to help someone else."

One-in-eight American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Jones  is now cancer-free, thanks in large part to catching the cancer early. His primary care doctor pushed him to get tested. But that’s not always the case. 

"Because of the confusion with primary care doctors and the many things they have to do on their 15-minute visit, they tend to not do prostate cancer screening as readily," said Dr. Adam Murphy, associate professor of urology at Northwestern Medicine. "Some are against it and some are really for it. I've had several patients say that they have had to advocate for it."

Big picture view:

Each man’s risk for the disease can range depending on age and ethnicity. 

"This is across race, across neighborhood," Murphy said. "I can go to Skokie or I can go to the South Side and it's a lot of, just a lack of awareness. People know where breast cancer is. I can ask men where they think the uterus and the cervix is and they can point on their body where that is, but they don't know where their prostate is."

Jones uses art to spread awareness about prostate cancer. His pieces line the walls and halls at Northwestern Medicine, where he’s also an employee. 

"The act itself creating, is therapeutic for me," Jones said. "It's just really peaceful for me, and it always has been. But I think it's just knowing that this, what I've learned, I can put on the canvas, and it'll make it comfortable for someone else who's just coming in. Maybe they're afraid, or they don't know what will happen. Maybe they'll see a term or something they’re not familiar with and it'll cause them to ask questions. Maybe it'll soften their experience and make things easier for them."

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to men getting treated for prostate cancer including long recovery times. New technology has made that process a little easier. Jones said he had surgery and was walking later that night. Murphy said men between the ages of 40-45 should be asking their doctor about baseline testing for prostate cancer.