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AT RAVINE ROAD. ANTOINETTE? ANTOINETTE: AS WE COME TO THE END OF NOVEMBER, SOME FOLKS ARE ALSO WRAPPING UP A MONTH-LONG PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN CALLED "MOVEMBER." IT’S WHEN MEN GROW OR TRY TO GROW A MUSTACHE AS A REMINDER THAT ALL MEN NEED TO PAY BETTER ATTENTION TO THEIR HEALTH. DOUG DECIDED TO JOIN THE "MOVEMBER" MOVEMENT. SOME OF YOU EVEN EMAILED US WONDERING ABOUT THAT THING ON HIS UPPER LIP. DOUG, YOU WERE PRETTY QUIET ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE UP TO. NOW YOU’RE READY TO EXPLAIN, AND -- DOUG: THE MUSTACHE SHOULD NOT WORK OUT WELL. AS YOU KNOW, BUT NOT A LOT OF , DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER, AND I THOUGHT SHARING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY STORY AND A LOT ABOUT THE JOURNEY OF A BROOKLINE MAN COULD PROMPT IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS WITH LOVED ONES, CONVERSATIONS THAT ULTIMATELY COULD SAVE LIVES. >> I’M 61 CURRENTLY AND THIS FOR ME STARTED 2 ½ YEARS AGO. WHAT FIRST STARTED 2 AND ½ YEARS AGO FOR JORGE FERNANDEZ WAS A LIFE CHANGING DIAGNOSIS. AT 58-YEARS-OLD, THIS MARRIED FATHER OF 5 FROM BROOKLINE WAS SUDDENLY FACING THE FACT THAT HE HAD PROSTATE CANCER. DOUG: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST INITIAL REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR TOLD YOU THAT YOU INDEED HAD CANCER? >> YEAH, SO IT WAS A STRANGE THING AND CERTAINLY A SCARY AND DISCONCERTING THING. DOUG:IT WAS NOT ONLY THAT. JORGE SAYS THE NEWS ALSO CAME AS A HUGE SHOCK. THE REASON >> I DIDN’T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS AT ALL, ZERO SYMPTOMS. DOUG: IT WASN’T UNTIL JORGE’S PRIMAR CARE PHYSICIAN NOTICED THAT HIS ANNUALLY MONITORED PSA RESULTS, WHICH IS PART OF A ROUTINE BLOOD TEST TAKEN BY MEN JORGE’S AGE, CAME BACK A BIT ELEVATED. A BIOPSY CONFIRMED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CANCER WAS PRESENT AND AFTER CONSULTING WITH DOCTORS AND HIS WIFE, JORGE DECIDED SURGERY AND REMOVAL OF THE PROSTATE WAS HIS BEST COURSE OF ACTION. >> IF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT UNATTENDED, THEN IT WOULD BE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SITUATION AND PROBABLY A SAD OUTCOME. DOUG: PROSTATE CANCER IS REMARKABLY PREVALENT. IT IS BY FAR THE MOST COMMON CANCER AMONG MEN IN THE UNITED STATES. DOUG: DR MARK POMERANTZ IS CLINICAL DIRECTOR OF GENITAL URINARY GROUP AT DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE. HE SAYS CANCER IN THE SMALL GLAND LOCATED JUST BELOW THE BLADDER AND WHICH IS PART OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM IS MORE COMMON THAT WE APPRECIATE. AND IN MOST CASES, IF A MAN LIVES LONG ENOUGH, HE MAY DIE OF OLD AGE RATHER THAN FROM THE CANCER ITSELF. >> MOST PEOPLE DIE WITH PROSTATE CANCER, NOT OF PROSTATE CANCER. DOUG: EVEN STILL, DR. POMERANTZ SAYS A QUARTER MILLION MEN WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER EVERY YEAR. 30,000 OF THOSE CASES WILL BE FATAL. AND ALTHOUGH IT’S THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER DEATH AMONG MEN, EARLY DETECTION CAN BE A LIFE SAVER. >> SO, THE NUMBER OF DIAGNOSES IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE NUMBER OF PROSTATE CANCER RELATED DEATHS AND THAT IS A REFLECTION OF HOW CONTROLLABLE AND CURABLE THIS DISEASE CAN BE. DOUG: SO HOW ARE YOU FEELING NOW? >> GREAT, I FEEL, REALLY GOOD. DOUG: CURRENTLY JORGE IS CANCER FREE AND LIVING A FULL AND HAPPY LIFE. AND DESPITE SOME MEN NOT WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THIS TYPE OF CANCER, JORGE SAYS AWARENESS AND HAVING WHAT CAN BE AN ADMITTEDLY UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION IS CRITICAL TO SAVING LIVES. >> EVEN DOING THIS IS NOT SO EASY, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT’S IMPORTANT TO CONFRONT IT, AND TO ALSO KNOW THAT AVOIDANCE OR IGNORING IT OR JUST THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE FOR ME AND FOR THE PEOPLE THAT I LOVE. DOUG: DR POMERANTZ SAYS MEN CAN FIND INSPIRATION IN OUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES WHO HAVE MADE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OVERALL HEALTH CARE AMONG WOMEN. HE SAYS THE BREAST CANCER MOVEMENT HAS SAVED MILLIONS OF LIVES, AND THERE IS NO REASON WE CAN’T DO THE SAME FOR MEN WHEN IT COMES TO FACING AND FIGHTING PROSTATE CANCER. ANTOINETTE: REALLY SET IT THERE. IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS SO HARD TO TALK ABOUT, BUT SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IT. MAYBE SHARING YOUR STORY CAN SAVE ANOTHER LIFE OUT THERE. DOUG: WHEN IT COMES TO DOWNSTAIRS PLUMBING, GUYS DON’T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT STUFF. SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION. SO, WE HAD A MEETING AND SOME OF THE FEMALE COWORKERS DID NOT REALIZE THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MEN NEED TO CHECK OUT AS PART OF THEIR NORMAL ROUTINE. IF YOU HAVE THE ONLY HISTORY OR YOU ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, YOU SHOULD REALLY START HAVING THOSE PSA TESTS AROUND 45. AGE 50 AND OLDER IF YOU ARE NOT PART ONE OF THOSE HIGH-RISK GROUPS. I WAS IN THE HIGH RISK GROUP BECAUSE OF FAMILY HISTORY. ANTOINETTE: OTHERS MIGHT WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU STAND IN YOUR JOURNEY. DOUG: I AM IN ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE WHICH MEANS I WATCH THE PSA LEVEL AND IT IS STARTING TO CREEP UP A BIT MORE, SO I HAVE TO GO BACK FOR MY THIRD BIOPSY. THEY PUSHED UP SIX MONTHS SO IN EARLY JANUARY I WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE AND WE WILL SEE WHERE WE STAND AND WHAT IS THE NEXT SELECTION OF CHOICES WITHIN THAT PROCESS. WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED. ANTOINETTE