Driven by Passion, Riding for Prostate Cancer Awareness
- For Anthony Kalaj, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is not just about classic bikes and tailored suits—it’s about purpose-driven riding, raising awareness for prostate cancer and the importance of screenings.
- Screening often begins with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. This test measures PSA levels in the blood, and higher levels can indicate cancer. A digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps may also be performed.
- Current screening recommendations vary and can be confusing when it comes to age. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends men at average risk between 55 and 69 years old talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening. The American Cancer Society makes slightly different recommendations, suggesting men at average risk begin screening at 50, and men at higher risk at 45 or even 40.
- Neither organization currently recommends regular screening for men over 70, despite recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing 43% of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients are 70 or older.
- Discover more on “Men Beating The Odds”—an inspiring series that highlights powerful journeys of men facing prostate cancer, while reshaping the meaning of survival—here.
It means suiting up, starting the engine, and riding not just for personal passion—but for family, friends, and the hope of saving lives.
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For Anthony, riding a motorcycle is nothing like driving a car, “You get on a motorcycle and it becomes part of you.” He says “It’s equivalent to a surfer riding a wave. We’re just riding the pavement. It’s fantastic. ”
Kalaj praises The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride for not only raising millions of dollars in donations, but also doing it with style, a ‘dapper look.”
“It was more than that [a ride]. It was the suit, it’s the preparation, it’s putting on the shirt and the tie, it’s trimming the mustache for months,” he says.
But he insists its not only about style or riding a motorcycle. Instead, it’s about the unique camaraderie among riders that can’t be matched anywhere else.
Looking back on how she spoke on stage at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, and urged fellow riders “Get checked, get your PSA checked. It’s so simple. Get it checked”—he acknowledged that he hadn’t followed through on his advice.
“I had a script for a year and a half sitting on my dresser, and I ignored it. I ignored it because I was too busy, too busy with my business, my family, my life, hobbies, too busy to check on my health and care about me,” he tells SurvivorNet.
Expert Prostate Cancer Resources
“And then cancer taught me that. And you don’t have a choice. Cancer doesn’t give you a choice.”
Kalaj was faced with metastatic prostate cancer that spread to various parts of his body, causing him to be in immense pain and needing to undergo treatment, which included radiation.
His resolve to return to riding after such a difficult journey is truly remarkable, and he describes it simply as “grit.”
“If you don’t have grit, you ain’t got nothing. You can’t win any battle,” he says. “You get on a bike and you are free. You don’t have to think about cancer. You don’t have to think about work. You are just on the road.”
What Do the Current Guidelines Recommend for Prostate Cancer Screening?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) both recommend that men at average risk between the ages of 55 and 69 years talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.
The American Cancer Society recommends that men at age 50 who are at average risk should begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 45. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screening at 40.
For men 70 years and older, the USPSTF and the CDC say potential benefits do not outweigh the expected harms and recommend that men 70 and older should not be routinely screened for prostate cancer.
If You’re Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer, What to Expect for Treatment?
After testing and establishing your risk, your doctor will discuss possible treatment options. These may range from active surveillance to more aggressive options, including surgery and radiation therapy.
Surgery is an option for men with any risk group of prostate cancer that hasn’t spread outside of the prostate gland. The type of surgery most often used is called a radical prostatectomy.
There’s No One Definitive Symptom for Prostate Cancer, But There Are Clues
During the procedure, the surgeon removes the entire prostate, along with some tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles that release fluid into the semen. Your doctor can perform this through a traditional open procedure with one large or several small incisions, called laparoscopic surgery.
Surgery side effects may include erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence. Fortunately, the side effects are usually temporary, and there are ways to help you manage them.
Radiation therapy is often done when prostate cancer is caught early and confined to the prostate gland.
WATCH: When Prostate Cancer Spreads: The Scans Doctors Use To Assess Advanced Disease
Content independently created by SurvivorNet with support from Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.
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