Dusty Baker’s prostate specific antigen (PSA) had been slowly rising when he was in his early fifties.  That got the attention of his doctor, who called for a biopsy.  When Dusty returned from a hunting trip, he learned that there were cancerous cells in four of the biopsy’s eight zones.  Dusty’s Gleason score, a measure of the cancer’s aggressiveness, was too high to allow for the less-invasive known as brachytherapy, or, ‘the seeds,’ meaning his best option was a prostatectomy, the removal of his prostate.

 

Dusty Baker of Sacramento, California, enjoyed terrific health as a major league baseball player and manager.  But because many of the older men in his family had died of prostate cancer, in his forties he started charting the PSA revealed by his annual checkups.  One year his PSA was 1.8, then the next year it was 2.3.  About six years later, it got up to 4.0. 

 

That ‘s when he underwent a biopsy and in 2001, he learned he had prostate cancer at the age of 52.  His Gleason score ruled out brachytherapy as an option.  Radiation treatment was a possibility, but he had known too many who made that choice and had bad outcomes.  That left a prostatechtomy.

 

In 2001, the procedure consisted of cutting from one’s navel down to one’s penis.  For the next week, Dusty was told he couldn’t lift his toddler son because doctors did not want Dusty ripping his tender stomach muscles.  Then for the next six months he noticed a change in his urinary function forcing him to wear pads because when the need to urinate materialized, he was unable to ‘hold it.’  This also resulted in his having to often get out of bed and urinate in the middle of the night.  These days, Dusty’s urinary function is almost back to normal.

 

Following his diagnosis, Dusty made some changes in what he ate and drank.  Although he didn’t eliminate his consumption of scotch, he sharply reduced it.  He began to cook for himself more frequently, including tofu, green beans and collard greens in his diet.

 

He didn’t enjoy it, but he had to go in for checkups every three months.  The checkups included tests, which meant waiting approximately ten days for the results.  The three-month intervals became six-month intervals, which became annual intervals.  Now, more than 20 years cancer free, the checkups are extremely infrequent.

 

By way of advice, Dusty Baker often hears from men he knows wanting to learn about his cancer journey.  He tells them to be assertive about getting the PSA test and if it leads to bad news, and aggressively address their diagnosis because early detection is so important.  Dusty also says it doesn’t hurt to acknowledge the power of prayer and positive thinking.

 

Additional Resource:

 

Fans for the Cure: https://www.fansforthecure.org