Winning his own bout with prostate cancer wasn’t enough for Dan McCollum. He wants to knock out the disease once and for all.
by William Williams
Photo by Daniel Dubois
Once upon a time, a pink ribbon took breast cancer from taboo topic to cause du jour. Now it’s time for prostate cancer to come into the spotlight, according to Dan McCollum, co-coordinator of access services at Eskind Biomedical Library.
Four years ago, McCollum was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery to remove it.
“I wasn’t surprised (with the diagnosis), but it still took my breath away. It was a tough pill to swallow,” he said.
McCollum underwent a successful conventional radical prostatectomy, which put him out of commission for eight weeks.
But not everyone beats the disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 550 Tennesseans died of the disease in 2007, even as 3,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed. This year alone, approximately 27,000 men nationwide will die of prostate cancer.
In McCollum’s case there is a family history, with prostate cancer affecting no fewer than six other men in his family: He lost a grandfather and an uncle to the disease, and both his father and another uncle were successfully treated for it. His brother and a cousin both have been diagnosed and treated recently, and their progress has been good, McCollum said.
Because the disease hits so close to home, McCollum felt his victory over it could not simply end with a sigh of relief. Determined to educate men – and the women in their lives – on the importance of proper prostate health and maintenance, McCollum created the Prostate Cancer Coalition of Tennessee, which received 501c3 status in June 2004, roughly one year after his surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“I did not want to go through this experience and not try to help other men,” he said. “Some men are afraid to go to a doctor. … I enjoy talking to people and giving them hope. There is life after prostate cancer.”
Though President George W. Bush proclaimed the month of September Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in 2003, it hasn’t gotten the publicity other health issues have.
“Most media outlets, unfortunately, are not particularly interested in this,” McCollum said. “The prostate cancer advocacy movement, as a whole, is not as well organized as, for example, the breast cancer advocacy movement.”
McCollum highlights two key reasons for the movement’s lack of momentum.
“One, men don’t want to admit to being physically weak,” he said. “Two, men want to keep private a gland related to sexuality – out of fear and embarrassment.”
Always upbeat, McCollum does not resent the fact that prostate cancer awareness has not caught on to the extent that he would like.
“I would love to see a change and to think that I could affect that change,” he said.
There has been some change already, according to Michael Cookson, the VUMC urologic oncologist who oversaw McCollum’s surgery. “Through public awareness and screening, we believe we have detected cancers earlier and offered treatment. We have seen nationally that the death rate is declining. It’s due to early detection coupled with effective treatment.”
McCollum wants to keep the momentum going, but for now is starting small, funding his fledgling non-profit out of his own pocket. The organization’s membership is loose-knit, and only McCollum, his son David and a friend comprise the board. Wife Debbie McCollum, also a Vanderbilt employee, serves as secretary. But there are plans to launch a Web site in February, and McCollum will continue to share his story through speaking engagements and one-on-one conversations for as long as is necessary to get the word out.
As far as his long-term goal for the Prostate Cancer Coalition of Tennessee, McCollum said, “I’d love to see a day when we can go out of business.”
Prostate Cancer: Early detection is key
The American Cancer Society suggests men be tested for the warning signs of prostate cancer with a blood test as well as a digital rectal exam beginning at age 50. If there is a family history of the disease, men should be checked beginning at age 45. It is estimated that about one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one in 35 will die of it. More than 2 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today. Source: www.cancer.org
William Williams is a freelance writer based in Nashville.
Did you know?
Vanderbilt Medical Center recently acquired two da Vinci robots, pictured below. The cost was approximately $1.5 million each. The roboats are used to treat prostate cancer through a minimally invasive surgery called a laparoscopic prostatectomy.
To comment on this story, e-mail view-editor@vanderbilt.edu.
Posted 12/01/07
