SANTA MONICA, Calif.--()--Dan Zenka, a patient with Stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, remembers vivid details of his urologist delivering the news that he had potentially aggressive prostate cancer. While it is a scene that is played out more than 218,000 times each year across the country, Zenka was struck with the irony of his diagnosis. As senior vice president of communications at the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), the communicator crossed the line as a professional and became part of the subject matter as a patient.
“Sharing that voice has given purpose to my reality and tremendous comfort to me and my family.”
“My mind was reeling, but not from the shock of my diagnosis,” says Zenka. “Working at PCF made me well aware that one out of six American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and that I was not immune to the possibility of someday receiving my own diagnosis. But, I knew I had a moral imperative to use my cancer to reach out to others and stimulate discussion. It was time to talk the talk. To shut down and keep this to myself would have been hypocritical.”
Men often avoid talking about prostate cancer out of embarrassment and are reluctant to discuss diseases that strike below the belt. In his position at PCF, Zenka had spent the previous two years pushing a message that men and their families need to make prostate cancer something to talk about—to raise both awareness and understanding of a disease that is projected to kill more than 32,000 American men this year.
Within a few days of Zenka’s diagnosis, his cancer blog, www.mynewyorkminute.org, was launched. To date, the blog has attracted more than 25,000 visitors. He has written more than 120 posts and met hundreds of prostate cancer patients and their families from around the world through his blog. While the online forum helps its readers by providing unique perspectives from a patient who also works at the world’s leading accelerator of scientific research for prostate cancer, Zenka says it also supports his journey.
“Biology may have given me cancer, but my professional training gave me a voice,” explains Zenka. “Sharing that voice has given purpose to my reality and tremendous comfort to me and my family.”
Since his diagnosis in April 2010, Zenka had his prostate and some lower lymph nodes removed. His cancer was upgraded to Stage 4 when single Gleason 5 cancer cells were discovered in his lymph nodes. He subsequently underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy and is currently receiving a three-year course of hormone deprivation therapy. His odds of being cured are 40 percent.
As the first anniversary of Zenka’s diagnosis approaches, he is working on a blog post to mark the occasion. Described as a tribute to prostates everywhere, it will carry the same mix of direct dialogue and touches of humor that readers have come to expect. Why a tribute at this time? As he puts it, “You don’t really appreciate what you have until it’s gone.”
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s largest philanthropic source of support for accelerating the world’s most promising research for discovering better treatments and cures for prostate cancer. Founded in 1993, the PCF has raised more than $435 million and provided funding to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions worldwide. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Its efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about the PCF can be found at pcf.org.
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