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CNN Live At Daybreak
Prostate Cancer Primer
Aired February 12, 2003 - 06:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry has just arrived at Johns Hopkins Hospital. These pictures came in just minutes ago, and you can see Kerry arriving at the Baltimore hospital. He is about to undergo surgery to remove his prostate gland. You heard reporters calling out to him.
Doctors saw the cancerous tumor during an exam in December, and Senator Kerry says he made the choice after talking with others who have gone through the same thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I talked to Rudy Giuliani today. I talked to Mike Milken. I've talked to others who have faced this choice. And different men make different choices about how to deal with it. I am convinced that the choice I've made is the right choice for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Prostate cancer seems so prevalent nowadays. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here now.
John Kerry is going into the hospital. How long will this take? Will he be out in a matter of hours?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In a matter of days. The doctors say he'll be out in a matter of days, and that he'll be up and running. They say he'll be in terrific shape.
Let's take a look, since, as Carol said, we do seem to hear so much about prostrate cancer lately. Let's take a look at who is at risk for prostate cancer. Men over the age of 50 are at high risk, as are African-American men. And other risk factors are family history. If, for example, a man has a close relative who had prostate cancer -- John Kerry's father had prostate cancer -- that puts him at a higher risk for getting the disease as well.
Now, some doctors think that a diet high in animal fat and physical activity also put men at higher risk. It's not entirely clear that that's true, but that is a suspicion.
Now, the screening recommendations -- what men are supposed to do is that all men over age 50 are supposed to get screened for prostate cancer -- that's how Senator Kerry's cancer was found so quickly -- and high-risk men over age 45. In other words, men with a family history of prostate cancer are supposed to be screened starting at 45, and also African-American men.
John Kerry's doctor said he is a poster boy for early detection.
COSTELLO: Yes, he had a body scan. But let's talk about screening, since most men are screened. There's a big debate about that, over whether you should be screened and how early if you're a guy.
COHEN: Right. Senator Kerry, before he had the body scan, had what's called a PSA test, which is a blood test. And they found that over the years, his levels were rising, and that's when they said, gee, we need to do something about this.
There is quite a bit of debate about PSAs, and it can get a little bit confusing, so I'll try to lay it all out here. Some doctors say, you know what? When you do a PSA test, you may find a very, very early prostate cancer that is very slow-growing, and then the patient has to decide whether or not to have their prostate removed.
Now, some men will say, you know what? I don't want my prostate removed. Prostate cancer grows so slowly that they could remove it. They might become incontinent. They might become impotent. And they then have those quality-of-life issues when, in fact, this cancer was so slow-growing, it may never have caused a problem in the first place. So, there is some debate.
Senator Kerry said he felt strongly he wanted to have his prostate removed.
COSTELLO: And he should be fine to run for president.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: That's what he says, and that's what his doctor says, absolutely.
COSTELLO: Thanks for coming in early. Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 12, 2003 - 06:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry has just arrived at Johns Hopkins Hospital. These pictures came in just minutes ago, and you can see Kerry arriving at the Baltimore hospital. He is about to undergo surgery to remove his prostate gland. You heard reporters calling out to him.
Doctors saw the cancerous tumor during an exam in December, and Senator Kerry says he made the choice after talking with others who have gone through the same thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I talked to Rudy Giuliani today. I talked to Mike Milken. I've talked to others who have faced this choice. And different men make different choices about how to deal with it. I am convinced that the choice I've made is the right choice for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Prostate cancer seems so prevalent nowadays. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here now.
John Kerry is going into the hospital. How long will this take? Will he be out in a matter of hours?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In a matter of days. The doctors say he'll be out in a matter of days, and that he'll be up and running. They say he'll be in terrific shape.
Let's take a look, since, as Carol said, we do seem to hear so much about prostrate cancer lately. Let's take a look at who is at risk for prostate cancer. Men over the age of 50 are at high risk, as are African-American men. And other risk factors are family history. If, for example, a man has a close relative who had prostate cancer -- John Kerry's father had prostate cancer -- that puts him at a higher risk for getting the disease as well.
Now, some doctors think that a diet high in animal fat and physical activity also put men at higher risk. It's not entirely clear that that's true, but that is a suspicion.
Now, the screening recommendations -- what men are supposed to do is that all men over age 50 are supposed to get screened for prostate cancer -- that's how Senator Kerry's cancer was found so quickly -- and high-risk men over age 45. In other words, men with a family history of prostate cancer are supposed to be screened starting at 45, and also African-American men.
John Kerry's doctor said he is a poster boy for early detection.
COSTELLO: Yes, he had a body scan. But let's talk about screening, since most men are screened. There's a big debate about that, over whether you should be screened and how early if you're a guy.
COHEN: Right. Senator Kerry, before he had the body scan, had what's called a PSA test, which is a blood test. And they found that over the years, his levels were rising, and that's when they said, gee, we need to do something about this.
There is quite a bit of debate about PSAs, and it can get a little bit confusing, so I'll try to lay it all out here. Some doctors say, you know what? When you do a PSA test, you may find a very, very early prostate cancer that is very slow-growing, and then the patient has to decide whether or not to have their prostate removed.
Now, some men will say, you know what? I don't want my prostate removed. Prostate cancer grows so slowly that they could remove it. They might become incontinent. They might become impotent. And they then have those quality-of-life issues when, in fact, this cancer was so slow-growing, it may never have caused a problem in the first place. So, there is some debate.
Senator Kerry said he felt strongly he wanted to have his prostate removed.
COSTELLO: And he should be fine to run for president.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: That's what he says, and that's what his doctor says, absolutely.
COSTELLO: Thanks for coming in early. Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
