Age and Prostate Cancer
- So many rockers have battled prostate cancer, including Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, Rod Stewart, Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Rage Against the Machine’s Tim Commerford.
- Every man is at risk of developing prostate cancer. According to the CDC, about 13 men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime out of every 100 American men. And the older a man is, the greater the chance of getting prostate cancer.
- Prostate cancer screening typically involves a PSA test and a digital rectal exam, and it's important to have a conversation with your doctor early on to decide what screening should look like for you based on your individual risk level.
- Men who are 70 and older are not routinely screened because a diagnosis at that age would not necessarily affect their life span.
- Age can also play an important role in making treatment decisions, along with a person’s risk level and the stage of their disease. Older men might be able to avoid radical intervention techniques, like prostate removal or radiation, and instead rely on monitoring the disease for changes.
- Some people find that working during cancer, or soon after treatment, can bring a sense of normalcy to their lives. And know there are people out there, such as social workers, to help you navigate the process of working or not working.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the your risk for it increases as you get older. Here are five older musicians who have bravely battled the disease and show that cancer (or age!) doesn’t have to keep you from your passion.
Phil Lesh Grateful Dead
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The famed Grateful Dead guitarist received his diagnosis in 2006 and consequently had robot-assisted surgery to remove his prostate. According to Lesh, he expected “to have a rapid and complete recovery” because doctors caught his cancer “very early.”
He’s stayed in the clear with his prostate cancer, but, unfortunately, he was dealt another diagnosis less than 10 years later in the form of bladder cancer. Luckily, this cancer was also caught early and his treatment proved to be effective.
Expert Prostate Cancer Treatment Info
"I am very fortunate to have the pathology reports show that the tumors are all non-aggressive, and that there is no indication that they have spread," he said in 2015. "So thanks to my local doctor Cliff Sewell, and the incredible team at the Mayo Clinic, all is well and I can return to normal activities in two weeks from my surgery."
Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart, 78, is among the best-selling musical artists of all time. And the legendary British pop star and prostate cancer survivor continues to perform for fans to this day.
Stewart was first diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine screening in 2016. For treatment, the then 71-year-old “Maggie May” singer underwent radiation therapy for treatment. Thankfully, he shared that he was cancer-free in 2019.
"I'm in the clear, now, simply because I caught it early. I have so many tests," Stewart said.
Andy Taylor Duran Duran
Like Rod Stewart, Andy Taylor, a former member of the band Duran Duran, has a dedication to fans that has shown no limits. The 62-year-old English guitarist has continued to work on music for fans despite an ongoing cancer battle.
"Just over four years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer," he wrote in a letter read at the rock band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022. "Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different.
"Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening, there is no cure."
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He recently joined Duran Duran to make a reunion album, though we’re not sure when the album will be released.
"It's fantastic what we've done," John Taylor a current member of Duran Duran and collaborator on the album said of the upcoming album. "It's a different kind of project, there's a lot of cover songs which is unusual for us and then there's some old Duran songs that have been rebooted. Andy sounds phenomenal."
Rob Halford Judas Priest
Prostate cancer also wouldn’t keep Rob Halford from his love of music. The 71-year-old lead singer of heavy metal band Judas Priest, first began experiencing prostate cancer symptoms in 2017 before receiving his diagnosis in 2020.
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After a prostatectomy surgery to remove part or all of the prostate as well as some of the tissue around it more cancer was found in 2021. That’s when he had radiation treatments before finally achieving remission status.
"I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that's in remission now, thank God," he told Heavy Consequence in 2021. "That happened while we were all locked down (because of Covid), so things happen for a reason as far as (the) time sequence of events. I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life still doing what I love the most."
Tim Commerford Rage Against the Machine
Just last year, the world of rock and roll found out another musician was battling prostate cancer when Rage Against the Machine’s Tim Commerford, 55, shared news of his diagnosis.
"I've been dealing with some pretty serious s–t," Commerford said in December 2022. "Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer.
"I've been someone that's taken a lot of pride in being in shape and taking care of myself… But it's something where either you're either lucky or not."
It’s unclear exactly where Commerford is at with his cancer journey now, but it should be about time for another check in to test how he’s doing post-treatment.
“I just got my six-month test, and it came back at zero. I was like, 'F*ck yeah!' That's the best I can feel for the rest of my life,” he said. “Every day I get closer to that test is like, 'Fuck man, is this going to be the time when the number is going to go up and I'm going to the next thing, whatever that is?' I already went through some pain and shit. And I'm continuing to go through like, some crazy shit.”
Prostate Cancer Risk and Age
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. According to the CDC, about 13 out of every 100 American men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime.
And the risk increases as you age too, particularly for men over 50, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
RELATED: Staggeringly Higher Prostate Cancer Rates for Black & Latino Men
That being said, some are more at risk than others with age being the most common risk factor. In other words, the older a man is, the greater the chance of getting prostate cancer.
According to recent stats from the National Cancer Institute:
- 31% of prostate cancer cases were diagnosed among men aged 55 to 64 years
- About 42% of cases are in men aged 65 to 74 years
- About 16% of cases are in men aged 75-84.
Age Considerations for Prostate Cancer Screening + Treatment
Prostate cancer screening typically involves a PSA test and a digital rectal exam.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the name of a protein secreted by the prostate gland. Men have a small amount of PSA in their blood all the time but large amounts may signal that something is brewing. When cancer cells grow, PSA spills into the blood.
Although the PSA is not perfect when it comes to detecting prostate cancer, our experts agree that it is a helpful tool.
Should I Get Tested for Prostate Cancer?
"PSA screening saves lives," Dr. David Wise, a medical oncologist at NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center, said. "It's a consensus. It's established. And so that's where we stand today."
Prostate cancer screening guidelines can vary depending on the organization. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the following recommendations apply to men who have never had prostate cancer, are at an average or increased risk for the disease and do not have any symptoms:
- "Men who are 55 to 69 years old should make individual decisions about being screened for prostate cancer with a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test."
- "Before making a decision, men should talk to their doctor about the benefits and harms of screening for prostate cancer, including the benefits and harms of other tests and treatment."
- "Men who are 70 years old and older should not be screened for prostate cancer routinely."
Men who are 70 and older are not routinely screened because a diagnosis at that age would not necessarily affect their life span.
The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening
“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,” Dr. James Brooks, a urologic oncologist at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, told SurvivorNet.
Still, some people might decide that screening past age 70 is the right choice for them after talking with their doctor. No matter what, it's important to have a conversation with your doctor early on to decide what screening should look like for you based on your individual risk level.
Expert Prostate Cancer Treatment Info
Age can also play an important role in making treatment decisions, along with a person’s risk level and the stage of their disease. Men might even be able to avoid active radical intervention techniques, like prostate removal or radiation, because of their age, stage and/or risk level.
The Challenge of Deciding When to Treat Prostate Cancer
This could be the case for men who opt for watchful waiting the close monitoring of a patient's condition without giving any treatment until signs or symptoms appear or change or active surveillance the close monitoring of a patient's condition without giving any treatment unless there are changes in test results.
With the latter option, patients undergo certain exams and tests on a regular schedule.
"The concept of active surveillance is you're watching a man, and if something changes while the cancer is still in the prostate, you treat it then," Dr. Brooks said.
"An ideal man for active surveillance might be a man, for instance, in his late 60s who has a barely elevated PSA, let's say just above 4, who undergoes a biopsy and is found to have one of the 12 biopsy cores with a small percent of low grade, what we call, Gleason grade 3 plus 3 prostate cancer.
"That man has a very low probability, it's certainly less than 1% chance, of dying of prostate cancer in 10 years."
Active surveillance usually involves:
- A PSA test every six months
- Repeat digital rectal examinations no more frequently than once a year
- Repeat biopsies no more frequently than once a year.
Watchful waiting and active surveillance can be enticing options for some because it allows for the preservation of normal functioning.
"You don't have to suffer some of those potential side effects of sexual dysfunction or urinary dysfunction," Dr. Brooks said.
The Benefits of Active Surveillance
People who undergo active surveillance may still need active treatment later down the road, but recent research suggests men who managed their low-risk disease through monitoring did not have an increase in their risk of death in 15 years. This further promotes the idea that treatments like prostate removal or radiation may not be needed right away for some patients.
"The risk of the cancer is the key take home message from this trial," Dr. Wise said.
"Low-risk cancer can be safely monitored. Advances in monitoring on a formal active surveillance protocol with a urologic oncologist should be strongly considered. Surgery and radiation should only be considered after a discussion of the risks and benefits of these treatments given the lack of survival benefit reported in this study and others."
Working Through Cancer
All of the prostate cancer survivors mentioned above have shown that it’s possible to rock out during and/or after a cancer battle. And some survivors even say working during cancer, or soon after treatment, brought a sense of normalcy to their lives.
It’s important to know that whether or not you want to or feel like you have to keep working during cancer treatment, there are people out there to support you as you make decisions. Laurie Ostacher, a social worker at Sutter Bay Medical Foundation, is one of those people.
Working During Your Cancer Treatment
"I help folks think about whether it makes sense to work," she said. "If you really don't want to but are worried you're not going to be able to make ends meet, then I'll sit down and help them figure out, you know, with your disability insurance, would this be possible?"
One way in which Ostacher guides patients is by suggesting questions they should be asking themselves as well as their employers.
"I help them think about what types of conversations do you need to have with their employer? How much information do you want to share with him or her? What type of work schedule seems like it might work for you? Where might you need more flexibility?" she explained.
No matter what choice you make regarding working during a cancer journey, don’t forget to reach out to like Ostacher is you feel like you need help.
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