If you were to leave a message for a man informing him he’d just won two tickets to the San Francisco Giants Game, you could count down from 10 and before you reached 3, your phone would be ringing.
Let’s say the scenario changes and you now have… just for him… one free pass to a men’s health seminar on a variety of topics. He can even sign up for a prostate screening at the same time! Most men might not call you back for a week (at which time he is probably hoping you have forgotten all about the message you’d left for him).
These screenings need not be something we dread but are a sign that we are taking good care of ourselves or that we have caught a problem early enough to easily and painlessly treat.
For men, prostate cancer is the number two cause of death. Taking first place is heart disease. A man can help protect himself against the catastrophe of becoming ill from these diseases by educating himself on what they are, attending his annual screenings and paying attention to the symptoms.
Sonny Stupek, a husband, father and mentor to many, has been the Shasta College girls softball coach and an active member of the Redding community for 23 years. Coaching is his job, hobby and passion.
But one day last year, he says, “It was Mother’s Day, we have three kids and I forgot to get my wife something so I decided we’d take a trip to the hospital.” j
He can joke about it now. It wasn’t as funny then.
Stupek has an active lifestyle and does not drink or smoke, though he will confess to the occasional hamburger and slice of pizza. On Mother’s Day 2008 he woke up feeling “just not quite right.” He kept it to himself. He had a long day ahead of him. His team was part of the regional tournament and had to win a majority of the games to advance to the finals. They lost the first game and the pressure was on to win two in a row.
“The whole time I kept having these strange feelings, not really pain but discomfort, I probably should have told someone,” he said.
When he arrived home, his wife, Bev, was cooking dinner. He told her he wasn’t hungry and was going to lie down on the couch. Soon discomfort changed to “something’s not right.”
“The only way I can describe it is like an ice cream headache when you eat too fast — right in the center of my forehead and it felt like my teeth were on fire. My wife told me to get in the car, we are going to Mercy. It was a good thing we decided to go because my symptoms were getting worse in the car. It was less than three minutes from the time we pulled up to the ER to the time I was on the table hooked up to an IV and getting the care I needed. I had a heart attack right there on the table in the ER. Had I not gotten to the ER in time or not gotten seen when I did, I might not be here today. My wife saved my life by getting me to Mercy.”
Stupek suffered a heart attack on Sunday, May 11, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. but was back on the field in full force coaching the following Saturday. He is alive today because his wife was educated on the symptoms to look for and did not delay in her response time.
When you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of a heart attack it is important to seek a medical help right away.
What are the symptoms of a heart attack? They include:
- Severe pressure, fullness, squeezing, pain and/or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes.
- Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, neck, arms or jaw.
- Chest pain that increases in intensity.
- Chest pain that is not relieved by rest or by taking nitroglycerin.
- Chest pain that occurs with any/all of the following (additional) symptoms:
- Sweating, cool, clammy skin, and/or paleness.
- Shortness of breath.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Dizziness or fainting.
- Unexplained weakness or fatigue.
- Rapid or irregular pulse.
Although chest pain is the key warning sign of a heart attack, it may be confused with indigestion, pleurisy, pneumonia or other disorders. If you or someone you know exhibits any of those warning signs, act immediately. Call 911 or your local emergency number.
Similarly, the best defense against prostate cancer is early detection.
“The best advice I could give to protect yourself against prostate cancer is to get your annual screening and blood test because with prostate cancer there usually are no symptoms in the earliest stages and when you do have symptoms it usually means the cancer has already developed.” said Dr. Tryg Stratte, a Redding urologist.
“Prostate cancer is genetic for the most part. Men should begin screenings at age 50 unless you have a family history of prostate cancer, and in that case you should begin screenings at age 40.”
Scientists continue to work towards finding a cure for prostate cancer. New treatments include better methods to remove the prostate by surgery, putting radioactive “seeds” into the site of prostate cancer, and treating advanced disease with newer drugs. Researchers are also looking at more than 100 genes that may be linked in some way to prostrate cancer.
Photography by Michael Burke
Megan Loveless is public relations coordinator at Mercy Medical Center. Mercy Medical Center Redding is offering a free men’s health seminar on Thursday, Sept.10, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mercy Oaks Campus. Afterward there will be an opportunity to register for a prostate screening. The screening is $20. Proceeds benefit Mercy cancer education. For more information visit redding.mercy.org or call (530) 24-Mercy.
