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Nurse Shares Story Of Devastating Prostate Cancer That Took Brother’s Life
(My goal is to make sure men are aware of how devastating Prostate Cancer can be)
Thank you for allowing me to share this story with you.
As a nurse and public ser- vant, I feel it is my civic duty and responsibility to share a personal story that has an underlying lifesaving mes- sage. If this story sends you to the doctor for prostate screening and/or helps to save one life, then I will say "thank you for making a proactive decision to live your best life, you only have one life".
I know of someone who was a regular every day, hardworking, family person. He didn't, however, place any priority on his health. He was the youngest of the siblings and the only male. One day, he had to be rushed to the emergency room. His face started swelling and his throat was starting to close. His diagnosis was that he was experiencing a side ef- fect to the blood pressure medication – Lisinopril.
While the ER staff was as- sessing him and running a battery of tests, he was given a devastating diagnosis. He had metastatic prostate can- cer, stage 4 (final stage) that had spread to his bones (an excruciatingly cancer pain). He had to start chemother- apy and radiation immedi- ately.
According to a science writer with the Prostate Can- cer Foundation, men of African ancestry are targeted by a gene called NKX3-1.
Another genetic factor link to prostate cancer, ac- cording to Moffitt Cancer Center, is men who have high grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) cells may have a higher risk of a cancer emerging in a lifetime.
Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer with 1 in 5 being diagnosed in a life- time. African American men are 76% more likely to be diagnosed and 2.2 times as likely to die from the dis- ease compared to the white
soon as the COVID-19 Pan- demic is over and safe again. Please continue to read this newspaper for the health fair dates that will be posted. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, please stay safe by
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Margie McMillan Bell- ware, Nurse/writer of this
article has been in the health care setting for over twenty years, includ- ing federal government employment. She contin- ues to be very involved in the health care field.
MARGIE BELLWARE
male counterparts. It also appears to develop approxi- mately 3 years earlier than in white men.
Risk factors include: ge- netic factors (family history, relative diagnosed with prostate cancer); age (65 and older); race; diet high in red meat, low in fruits and veg- etables.
As with any disease, pre- vention and early detection is the key.
However, the family was equally as devastated from the diagnosis as the treat- ment process, having to en- dure the numerous medical visits to the doctor for chemo/radiation treatments. But it’s important to know that living with prostate can- cer is a very challenging life- adjusting experience. It is important that you are com- pliant with your diet and lifestyle; it is the key to the success of your treatment and recovery.
The person that I am sharing this story about is MY brother, John McMil- lan, Jr., affectionately called Jr. or Mac.
Once diagnosed and into treatment, Jr. was telling every man he met to “go and get screened.” "Prostate cancer is nothing to be ashamed of.
Some men feel that this subject is too personal. To that I say, you want to know what's even more personal? His funeral. (See John McMillian, Jr.’s family no- tice in this newspaper.)
The National Black Nurses, Tampa Metro Sec- tion in conjunction with the National Council of Negro Women will be hosting fo- rums on prostate cancer as
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