Remembering ‘High Noon’ Actor Gary Cooper, Who Died 60 Years Ago Today from Prostate Cancer at Age 60

Shortly before his death on May 13, 1961, Cooper, 60, received an Academy Honorary Award as well, for his career achievements. Too sick to attend the ceremony, It’s a Wonderful Life actor Jimmy Stewart accepted on behalf of Cooper, saying, “Coop, I’ll get this to you right away. And Coop, I want you to know this, that with this goes all the warm friendship and the affection and the admiration and the deep, the deep respect of all of us. We’re very, very proud of you, Coop. All of us are tremendously proud.”

 

In April 1960, Cooper had surgery at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital for his prostate cancer, which had spread to his colon. In June of the same year, he had surgery again at Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles to remove a tumor from his intestines. In December 1960, Cooper and his family were informed that his cancer spread to his lungs and his bones, and it was inoperable. He passed five months later. But the Montana native lives on, though, in the hearts of cinephiles everywhere.

Screening for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is typically detected via PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, a blood test that looks for PSA in the bloodstream, which may indicate prostate cancer. The test measures the PSA in the body, which is a protein produced by cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate. The prostate is a small gland found in men that sits below the bladder.

Related: Prostate Cancer Survivor Rod Stewart, 76, Cheekily Encourages Men to Get Their PSA Tests: 'One Up the Bum, No Harm Done'

Urologic oncologist Dr. James Brooks from Stanford Medicine describes in an earlier interview when people should have this screening test.

“Current guidelines are to start screening at age 55 and continue screening through age 70,” Dr. Brooks says. “The reason for that is prostate cancer diagnosed after age 70 has a reasonably low probability it’s going to take your life because prostate cancer, even in its aggressive forms, when it’s localized is a relatively slow-growing cancer.”

“Men who are at high risk because of a family history should have PSA testing earlier,” says Dr. Brooks. “At latest, age 40, but probably even by age 35, they should have an initial PSA. That PSA test at a younger age, it’s a more accurate test because the prostate has not increased in size, which can cause the test to be more difficult to interpret.”

The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening

Screening for Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is screened for via colonoscopy, which looks for polyps in the colon, which may indicate cancer. People with an average risk of colon cancer should begin screening at age 45 and continue through age 75.

In an earlier interview, colorectal surgeon Dr. Zuri Murrell describes this screening procedure and the painlessness of polyp removal. He says, “People often ask me, what do you do when you have a colonoscopy? What’s done? Do you do biopsies? So a colonoscopy can be done for many things. But when we’re looking at a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, what we do is we’re looking for polyps, which are these small growths.”

Related: How Does a Colon Polyp Turn into Cancer?

Dr. Murrell says that when a polyp is detected, it’s removed through the colonoscope. “What does that mean? That means we basically put a wire through with a little bit of a little flange at the end and we pull the polyp out. Now, note there is no pain with that,” he says. “Inside the colon, there are no pain fibers.”

Looking for Polyps During Colonoscopy

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