Alonzo Mourning warns men against prostate examinations

It is currently Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame center and current Miami Heat executive Alonzo Mourning recovery after surgery in March 2024, he underwent surgery to remove his prostate after developing stage 3 prostate cancer. In his mourning, additional tests were performed, which showed that the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate; Thanks to the procedure, the bereavement is now cancer-free.

As reported by ESPN, Mourning is using his experience to inform men how necessary it’s to have a prostate exam, even in the event that they don’t show any symptoms.

“What scares me about this disease is that there are so many men walking around feeling great and having cancer in them and they don’t even know it,” Mourning told ESPN. “The only way to find out is to get a blood test and a PSA test. There are 3.3 million men in the United States with prostate cancer, and many of them don’t even know it. I was one of those guys.”

The mourning continued as he recounted his experience with Dr. Sanoj Punnen, a urologic oncologist on the University of Miami: “Dr. Punnen tells me, “I want to do a PET scan right away to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread in your body. I was in shock. I can’t tell you enough how good my body felt. I was in great shape – I was sprinting, I was strong. The doctor told me he couldn’t believe I had a kidney transplant.”

Mourning also warned men concerning the importance of normal preventive examinations. “Life has been good and amazing for me, but if I ignored the tests and let it go, the cancer would have spread throughout my body,” Mourning said. “Unfortunately, as men, we don’t like going to the doctor, but this is the only way we can find out what is happening in our body. Prostate and even colon cancer are silent killers and many men go undiagnosed until it is too late.”

Mourning concluded: “We live in a world where talking about men’s health issues is taboo. If I didn’t have routine checkups, I probably wouldn’t be here to talk about this. I want men to actively take care of their health.”

How BLACK ENTERPRISES as previously reported, the danger of prostate cancer is decided by the PSA result, and the upper the number, the greater the prospect of developing the disease. Black men particularly are more vulnerable to prostate cancer. According to research by the American Cancer Society, black men are 70-110% greater risk of developing prostate cancer in your lifetime and are twice as prone to die from the disease than white men. As a result, latest guidelines recommend that black men have their PSA levels checked starting at age 40.

Dr. Isla Garraway, a physician, professor and director of research in urology on the David Geffen School of Medicine on the University of California, Los Angeles, told UCLA Health that the brand new guidelines are specifically intended to assist Black men survive prostate cancer.

“These guidelines were specifically formulated to provide practical recommendations for Black men as they consider their individual prostate cancer risk and make shared decisions with their health care providers,” Dr. Garraway said. “Early detection of prostate cancer is one of several factors that the panel believes may reduce prostate cancer morbidity and mortality in this high-risk population.”