VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — I went back to the Urology of Virginia: the place where my prostate cancer journey started.
This is the first time I'm discussing my new PSA blood test results—that's the test that screens for prostate cancer. It's also the first time I'm getting those test results following all of my radiation treatments wrapping up.
Here's the verdict from my urologist, Dr. John Liu with Urology of Virginia: "Your PSA is currently what we consider nondetectable, less than 0.03, so it's perfect!"
Watch: Don't fear the finger! A journey through prostate cancer
It's been a journey to get here. As I've been sharing along the way, less than a year ago, it was Dr. Liu who performed my biopsy.
When he read my PSA blood test results late last year, he told me, "Well Kurt unfortunately we did find, you know, a few areas of prostate cancer."
That led to five weeks of daily radiation treatments, followed about a month later by tiny, radioactive seeds surgically implanted directly into my prostate.
Watch: Kurt Williams honored with other prostate cancer survivors at ODU football game
Now that my treatments have concluded and I have these great test results, I asked Dr. Liu what this means going forward.
"You'll still need to have that number tracked regularly—at least over the next two to five years probably. We'll be monitoring that PSA [to] make sure it remains stable at that very, very low or non-detectable number. But we do need to follow this long-term and at the five-year mark, if your PSA is non-detectable, then we can say with more confidence that your cancer is cured," said Dr. Liu.
Watch: Man learns he has cancer after Kurt Williams' story motivated him to get tested
I asked Dr. Liu, what's the takeaway from my story?
He responded, "I think the takeaway is that number one, prostate cancer screening is very, very important. We do recommend men between the ages 50 and 70 get prostate cancer screenings. The vast majority of prostate cancer is gonna be caught by the PSA blood test screening alone, but the digital rectal examination is also an important part of that prostate cancer screening."
As I've been sharing, it was the physical exam that gave my doctor the first heads-up that I needed a biopsy. Speaking of that, if you haven't already checked out our prostate cancer special, Don't Fear the Finger, you can watch it here.
