HAMPTON, Va. — "You saved my life!" That's what a local man told me after reading my stories about my journey with prostate cancer. He said it put him on the path to learning he had prostate cancer himself.
Eddie Davidson from Suffolk said he was diagnosed following a recent biopsy.
"It showed multiple areas—there was definite cancer in there," said Eddie. "When you just get that news... you reevaluate everything!"
Watch previous coverage: News 3's Kurt Williams shares latest prostate cancer update
I first met Eddie about a month ago when he approached me at a men's health event at Bethel Temple Assemblies of God in Hampton. I was about to speak about my prostate cancer journey and he said, "Thank you so much, God bless you, brother! You literally saved my life!"
Eddie credits my stories on my prostate cancer journey for helping him find out, especially my first story about getting a digital rectal exam during my prostate screening.
"You saved my life because without you being transparent, I would never have insisted or even thought... about getting a rectal exam," said Eddie.
Eddie continued to say, "It took me by surprise that someone was that transparent. When I heard your report and you were talking about your PSA [blood test] and how it was low, a light automatically went off in my mind and it was like, 'My PSA is low. I've got a history in my family. I need to get checked.'"
The family history he's referring to is his father and brother, who both had prostate cancer. Now, Eddie had been tracking his PSA numbers—the blood test used to help screen for prostate cancer.
Watch related coverage: Yorktown man says he got his life back after enlarged prostate procedure
Eddie's case was similar to my experience: my PSA numbers were considered in the normal range for my age, but my urologist Dr. John Liu also does a digital rectal exam, using a finger to feel for any irregularities on the prostate. What he found during my physical exam at my regular annual visit last year put me on the path of learning I had prostate cancer.
I asked Eddie whether he was getting digital rectal exams. He told me, "No. My last digital exam was probably seven years prior to that."
But Eddie says that all changed following my story. He knew he needed answers from his doctor.
"I had gone to them after hearing your report and said, 'I need to have an exam, refer me to somebody,'" said Eddie.
That somebody was Dr. Eric Darby with TPMG Urology in Newport News. I asked him if he was shocked when he felt Eddie's prostate.
"I'm always a little surprised when someone has a low PSA for a while and then you do an exam and it just comes up abnormal," said Dr. Darby.
I asked Dr. Darby what the possibility of having something detected during a digital rectal exam—despite having what's considered a normal PSA—should tell men about prostate cancer diagnoses.
"Well, I think all men need to be diligent about their health—they need to be their own advocates. If you're not getting [the digital rectal exam], make sure you ask for it," said Dr. Darby.
Dr. Darby knows most men are not going to ask for the digital rectal exam.
"They are happy to avoid it if possible, but it's at your own peril. It takes 10 seconds," he said.
I asked Dr. Darby why there's inconsistency with medical practices in getting the digital rectal exam.
"I just think people... don't like doing that exam. Patients certainly don't like it and some physicians don't feel comfortable asking or proceeding with that exam," he said.
I also asked him if there's debate in the medical community about whether the physical exam is effective.
He responded, "I think depending on who you ask, there is. But someone like Eddie who had two family members, two first-degree family relatives—father and brother or two brothers—that really, significantly increases your risk. There's no reason not to have it."
Eddie stressed to me that he wants to make his message clear: "I want to help as many men as much as possible to become aware of this to bring the awareness up in men. Get the rectal exam done... just get it done. My sixth grandchild is on the way. I've been married for 40 years. I have three lovely children and these grandchildren. I want to be around for them. I don't want a silent killer inside my body. Your story brought that to light."
I asked Eddie why was it important for him to seek me out and say something to me. He told me, "You saved my life....you saved my life, Kurt. Your transparency.... I'm never gonna forget it. Never will I forget what you did!"
Eddie had his prostate surgically removed. He's on the path to recovering from his cancer diagnosis, which all started thanks to a 10-second physical exam.
