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Dr. Drew Reveals He's Been Battling Prostate Cancer
Susan Pinsky and Dr. Drew Pinsky attend the Stand Up To Cancer benefit at The Shrine Auditorium on September 7, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Radio show host and rehab-doctor-to-the-stars Dr. Drew Pinsky revealed that he recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer.
He made the announcement yesterday on his blog: "While many of you were celebrating the Fourth of July, I was at home on my couch recovering from a radical robotic prostatectomy."
He said it was his wife, Susan, who convinced him to see a doctor. "I'd been sick here and there. But overall, I'd felt great. In 2011 my wife, Susan, begged me to go to the doctor for a check-up. I was dismissive. I'm a doctor! I didn't see the point in going to another internist for a physical. But I went." He was alarmed to discover he had an enlarged prostate."Even though my father and uncle had had prostate cancer, there was no evidence that I had cancer," he thought at first. But the doctors discovered a tumor.
He and his doctor adopted a "wait and see" approach since, as Dr. Drew writes, only 10 percent of low-grade prostate cancers spread. Unfortunately, his did, so he opted for the surgery in July.
"Why am I telling you this?" he writes. "I want you to hear it from me. Not from the Internet. Not from a gossip column. Not from someone who doesn't know me. And I want to make you aware. Men, you are likely to get prostate cancer. The odds are you will if you live long enough. When you do, don't freak out. You don't need to take action today. In many cases, time is on your side."
He concludes, "I'm grateful this was a detectable, survivable cancer... And I'm glad my wife's internal radar was working well. Thank you, Susan, for making me go to the doctor."
Actors Ian McKellen, Ryan O'Neal, and Billy Connolly have also announced they have prostate cancer, as have Secretary of State John Kerry, California Governor Jerry Brown, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bob Dole and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Dennis Hopper died of the disease in 2010, as did local TV host Huell Howser.
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Related:
Huell Howser Died Of Prostate Cancer
Jerry Brown Is Getting Treatment For Prostate Cancer
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