Senator Thom Tillis Back at Work
- Republican Senator from North Carolina, Thom Tillis, is back to work after prostate cancer surgery several weeks ago.
- Tillis was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2020, and opted for an aggressive treatment path, in part due to his official duties.
- Prostate cancer is detected via PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests, which look for PSA in the body.
Tillis, 60, a Republican from North Carolina, recently had surgery for prostate cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer while in the midst of a competitive re-election campaign for Senate last fall, and only went public with his disease in March. Many people choose to keep their cancer battles private for a variety of reasons.
Tillis’s Prostate Cancer Battle
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He tells WCNC of opting to go the surgery route, “Quite honestly, part of it had to do with my official duties. I had to find (a treatment) I was willing to accept the risk of the side effects, but also be able to do it within the contours of a tough schedule.” He says of the surgery, “I feel great. Came out of surgery with the typical post-operative challenges. But that lasted for about a week.”
Despite his aggressive approach, he knows there are no guarantees.
“There’s no guarantee there aren’t prostate cancer cells somewhere else in my body. But since we’ve reduced the chance of it spreading, it’s just a matter of managing it,” he says. “I want to be jumping out of a plane on my 61st birthday, and that’s not until August.”
An Overview of Prostate Cancer Surgery
Screening for Prostate Cancer with PSA Tests
Tillis received his diagnosis of prostate cancer following a routine physical during which he took a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. The test showed elevated levels of PSA, and a biopsy confirmed that it was cancer. Tillis also has a family history of the disease.
In an earlier interview, urologic oncologist Dr. James Brooks discusses the PSA screening test. He says, “Current guidelines are to start screening at age 55 and continue screening through age 70. 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,” he says. “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
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