Routt County resident James Onurfrak knew his father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 61, so he worked with his own doctors to get regular PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, testing throughout his 50s.

PSA testing has been normal for several years. Then in the spring of 2023, onufrak went for his regular annual medical exam and blood draw with his doctor in Florida. When the laboratory results came, a PSA test was not performed. Thereupon, Onufrak returned to the doctor’s office and asked for a test.

This test showed slightly elevated PSA levels. This led to Onufrak embarking on his own journey through prostate cancer treatment at the same age as his father. More complex blood tests followed, and then an MRI showed three tumors in his prostate. MRI images guided a biopsy that confirmed his cancer.

Retired businessman, MD, urologist and surgeon at Urology Clinic PC in Steamboat Springs. He opted for prostate removal surgery under the supervision of Clay Pendleton.

The first signs of prostate concerns can easily be caused by aging and the need to urinate more frequently, onufrak said. Some friends and medical professionals told her not to worry, but she suspected there was a family history of cancer.

“I thought, ‘What if it’s not normal?'” onufrak said. “The key to prostate cancer is that you can catch it early. You have to advocate for yourself. Don’t get doctors to do a PSA test for a normal physical. I thought it would just involve the physical.”

Experts say that prostate cancer is easier to treat and treat if it is caught early. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, one in eight men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. For black men, the rate is higher, at one in six.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men in the United States, and an estimated 3 million U.S. men are currently living with prostate cancer, the foundation reported. By 2024, more than 299,000 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 35,000 will die from the disease.

Pendleton and his practice partner, Dr. Jamie VanOveren emphasizes that prostate cancer is often asymptomatic, so regular PSA blood test screening is important along with a physical examination by a doctor. Doctors said these screenings should begin at age 50 for men at normal risk and at age 40 for men with a first-degree family history of cancer or black men.

“Patients think they don’t have cancer because they don’t show symptoms, but they need to continue screening no matter what,” Pendleton said. “Because prostate cancer often progresses silently or shows no symptoms, and urinary problems occur in older men as they get older.”

Doctors diagnose about 150 cases of prostate cancer in patients in the Northwest Colorado area each year.

“Newer approaches to screening, such as prostate MRI, may provide a more targeted method to detect the cancers that constitute the most health- or life-threatening disease and potentially prevent unnecessary interventions,” said VanOveren, who has worked in Steamboat since 2008.

Although Onurfrak’s father received radiation treatment for prostate cancer, his father died of pancreatic cancer two years later.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, an increased risk of prostate cancer due to a close family member’s diagnosis “may be due to gene mutations that run in families and run through many types of cancer, including breast, colon, ovarian and pancreatic.”

To warn patients that they may be at risk for another cancer and to warn their close relatives, Pendleton and VanOveren recommend genetic testing by blood draw for patients at high risk or with multiple familial cancer diagnoses.

Doctors note that prostate cancer can be treated with prostate removal surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or cryoablation, or freezing the cancer. All prostate removal surgeries in the region are now completed laparoscopically using RALP or Robotically Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy. Robot-assisted surgery reduces blood loss, pain medication use, hospital stay and recovery time, Pendleton said.

Following surgery in January, onufrak said he is doing “great” now and his family started the nonprofit Happy Tails Animal Rescue in southern Routt County. She has her PSA levels checked every three months for the first year after surgery, and this testing will continue every six months for three years.

She’s glad she stood up for herself and was proactive with her health care so the cancer didn’t have time to spread or need chemotherapy or radiation.

“If I had waited, this prostate cancer could have spread to my lymph nodes outside,” he said. “We decided to stay here (for the surgery) because we absolutely love Dr. Pendleton and his office’s bedside manner and the way they truly care about their patients.”

Onurfrak said the best outcomes of his battle with cancer were a newfound broader perspective on life and keeping a closer eye on the prostate health of his three brothers and numerous friends.

“You have to listen to your body and advocate for yourself,” she said, “and choose good doctors.”