This Is Why We Are Passionate About The ZERO Prostate Cancer Challenge

29,000 men will die this year as a result of prostate cancer and many would not be dying if they had more education about the disease and had a PSA screening earlier. But, screening is not enough, we need to find a cure. With money, we can do that.

If you want to know why Chesapeake Urology and ZERO are so passionate about what we do, read this letter:

Hi Dr. Siegel,

I wanted to share with you why my family is walking.

In 2011 one of our very good family friends turned 50. At his yearly check-up he had his PSA drawn and it was elevated at 12. He was adopted and didn't know of any family history. He came to see the doctor that I worked for at that time and had a prostate biopsy done. It came back positive in all but 2 areas. It was recommended that he have a robotic radical prostatectomy at Hopkins. He recovered well from the surgery and received radiation.

A few months down the road, his PSA began to rise again. At that time, against my urging and his doctors advice, he and his family opted strictly for homeopathic treatment. We watched him change his entire lifestyle, eat things he hated and downing herbs and vitamins, all which may have been helpful along with regular treatment to help keep his body strong, but alone it didn't do much.

We watched him decline rapidly. He had severe bone pain from lesions on his chest wall, hips and neck. He finally came to CUA to see one of our doctors, but by then there wasn't much to do. It was heartbreaking for our family to watch our good friend suffer, going from a vibrant, strong man to a shell of himself. He sadly passed away this past June, just under 4 year from his diagnosis at only 53 years old.

My family walks this year in his memory. We walk in hopes that the men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer will make informed decisions and take advantage of the many proven treatments that we now have.

See you Sunday, September 20 at the ZERO Prostate Cancer Challenge/Baltimore!