Empowering Men to Conquer Prostate Cancer and Prioritize Health

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Healthy, Wealthy and Wise podcast with Dr William Chokta, MDJD. Our mission is to empower you with the knowledge and the tools you need to thrive in all aspects of your lives. Join us now as we discuss everything from nutrition and exercise to money management and personal growth. Dr Chokta will provide insightful advice on how to improve your physical and financial health, as well as your emotional and mental well-being. Whether you're looking to boost your energy levels, unlock financial freedom or cultivate a more positive mindset, we've got you covered.

0:41 Get ready to become the best version of yourself? So let's get started. Here's Dr William Chokta, MDJD. Speaker 2: Well, thank you, dr Chokta, And also thank you, jesse. I really appreciate it. Basically, my story is this I would say in 2021, just a regular checkup visit with my doctor, and he said you know, your PSA is elevated, and so because the normal score is 4.0, and mine had elevated to 4.6. And so he suggested that we take another look at it, say in about three or four months, and then go from there. So I didn't think anything of it, because I eat healthy, i exercise on a regular basis, i take care of myself, and so I ended up going back taking another blood test and it still was at the same number, and so he was kind of getting a little concerned because for me at that time, only being 58 years old, he thought when I was kind of young , to have, you know, a PSA with that score. So he suggested I go to the city of Hope and just have them take a look at it, and so I decided to do that, and I'll never forget December of 2021. I had an opportunity to go there, And when they first did the initial blood test,

2:13 obviously they solved the score, but then after that, when they did, when they checked the area around the prostate. Everything felt normal. It wasn't enlarged, i wasn't having any symptoms or anything like that. So they decided to do a biopsy And in a biopsy they found five different little specs that showed that I had to be getting a prostate cancer in five different areas, in particular on the right side of my prostate. And so from there I became a patient And they began to monitor me from December of 2021 to when I actually had the removal on April 5th 2023. But the interesting thing, guys, i didn't do anything different. I kept my same diet, i kept exercising, taking care of myself, getting plenty of rest.

3:01 But my prostate started to elevate And it went from 4.6 to 6.6 in a year's period of time, and then from 6.6 in 2022 to 2023, it went all the way up to 10.367. That was the final diagnosed for me on February 28, 2023. I couldn't believe that it elevated that high and it wasn't just the right time. I prostrated at the time. It had shifted over to the left side and that's where the real concern was. Because they just felt that at that point There's time to do something about it, because they just didn't want it to metastasize my body at all.

3:59 I went with my urologist. I got a chance to talk to him and spend time with him. He said you know you have options. You're still relatively young. I wasn't even 60 yet. He said you're relatively young, we can do radiation. I said no, i don't want that in my body, or we can just do the removal. I'll let you know when we can do that. That's when they decided to go ahead and do the removal process . What I wasn't thinking about I did a lot of reading and research on it. I wasn't thinking what the after effects of that removal would be. I said , oh, it's no big deal, it's just a small walnut inside of me that they take out and I'll be back to normal again. That wasn't the case. Actually, the actual removal on April 5th I had to have a catheter in me for seven days And then after that I also have been going to a physical therapy for twice a week, still at the City of Hope. So I'm back exercising, but it hasn't been the same. I'm still getting in contact, obviously in continents. I'm working on that and just being able to get back to my normal life. But things have taken a change. But the interesting part I couldn't find any one of my family who actually had it, to tell you a little short story about my family. You and I have something in common, dr Chakta. My family my dad's a rooting from Tennessee And I have a ton of relatives down there I've never met before in the City of Memphis, tennessee, and so Tim Robinson got me in contact with

5:32 one of my cousins, and he's the only one these 10 years older than me, the only one that I know of, that had prostate issues, and we're more of a distant cousin than we are a close related cousin So. But my other relatives, none of them have any prostate issues. None of them had any. Everything is fine with them and they're mostly in their 70s. I'm the only one and I'm 60 now that actually has had prostate removal. So that's basically my story in a nutshell. Speaker 3: Oh, what message would you want to give to other individuals, particularly men, about your stories? What lessons did you learn?

6:19 Speaker 2: Even though I was healthy, i mean I had. When I say healthy, don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, any things. Each relatively healthy meal, watch everything I eat, make sure I get an up, rest, exercise. I would just tell men, it doesn't really matter If you're not sure or don't know what your history of in terms of prostate, you should have yourself check as early as 35. Because, believe it or not, that's actually when I started to get my prostate checked, because I lost my dad at 49, but it wasn't from prostate. He had heart problems, heart disease at the end, large heart, and so I wasn't quite sure and I started reading about prostate cancer And I just said you know, this is something that African American males experience a lot earlier than most other ethnicities. I need to look at this because you never know. So from the age of 35 until now I've been having my prostate check on a regular basis. But I would tell men and it doesn't matter what ethnicity you are, i'll tell them, get your prostate checked early, get it checked early, 35 years old, i mean, don't mess around. I was very fortunate Just a routine physical exam that my doctor spotted the elevation of my PSA And from there, i was able to go and have the city of home be able to take care of me all the way up until the removal . So I will tell them you got to get yourself checked, whether

7:52 it's with your position or just in general. There's so many different areas Now you can go in terms of getting a PSA check. You got to do it. It's just important. So I really do. I think it's in fact, i know it's important because not all did they catch it early, but they caught it while I'm still relatively young and healthy, right. So that's why I decided to do the removal part, as opposed to some men who wait till later on And then they don't have that option. So, but I had options. So that's why you want to get a check. You want to get a check early and stay on top of it. So that would be my message. Speaker 3: And also tell us a little about yourself, You know what do you do for a living? Where'd you go to school? Just a little brief bio, brief bio, well.

8:42 Speaker 2: I grew up in Southern California. I was very fortunate. I grew up what they call Southwest LA. So I grew up near the Western Imperial side, near Southwest College, not too far, believe it or not, from those two blocks South of Englewood and two blocks, i guess you could say, northwest of Parthon. My parents, like I said, my dad, was from Memphis, tennessee. He was in the Air Force. He came out and met my mom back in the late 50s. She was from Louisiana and I was very fortunate to be born here in Southern Cal. I went to all private schools. I went to a private grammar school, i went to a private high school, a loyal high school downtown LA.

9:30 It's the oldest private all boys high school in California. It was created in, i believe, 1859. You guys have heard of Loyola Maramot University. That was birthed out of there and Loyola Law School was birthed out of there too. And then from there I decided to go to a private college. I went to a black college called the David University of New Orleans. I thought at one time I wanted to be a pharmacist. We had a pharmacist in our family that kept saying you got to go to Xavier, you got to go to Xavier. It's a great school. Speaker 3: I remember Xavier, i know. For the rest, Yeah. Speaker 2: So I went down there take a look at that pharmacy program, dr Sattonsi, i don't know if this is for me. And so what I did was I became a pre-law major. So I was a pre-law international relations major And from there I got a chance to learn a little bit about politics. I got involved in a little bit of politics there. I decided to come back to Southern California and, believe it or not, my first job I volunteered for Tom Bradley. He was running for governor the mayor but he was running for governor the second time. Okay, had an opportunity to work on his campaign, got a paid staff position and then decided that I had an opportunity to believe it or not to work for a council person in West Chester, california. I didn't want to interview for the position, but I thought at the time I just didn't have a heart to get into politics because I just didn't like the direction it was heading in and I want to be a part of it. And so I decided to

11:01 get in sales. And so from then on I've had a career in sales over 30 years. I've worked in different, various forms of sales. I worked at one time with Pepsi Cola. I also had the opportunity where I saw UC frequently Dr Chattow, working in the local industry for seven years. Speaker 3: Right, and then we just come to my office. Yeah, i did. Speaker 2: So that was a lot of fun It was. It was getting a chance to meet the doctors and detail them, and then from there I worked for a company called Office Depot, and then that's where I've been. I've been in sales now for over 30 years and I'm still working, but I'm on a tail end of my career. I hope to one day be able to be like you, dr Chattow, if you retire.

11:47 Speaker 3: You know we might have you do a podcast. Speaker 2: Yeah, you never know. You never know. But during that time period I was married My first time. My first wife had a son. He's now 31. And then I met my second wife at St Stephens. We've been together now, as of June 2nd this year, 22 years. So so I have a blended family. I have three grown sons and eight grandkids. Wow, wow, Congrats. How that happened I don't know, man, but unfortunately. You know the funny part coming to St Stephens I met Tim and Tim has been able to connect me with a lot of my relatives in Memphis Because, like I said, my grandfather had three sets of. Well, the first set was my father, my aunt and uncle, and I never met my uncle, but I knew my aunt And then he didn't marry my grandmother, he went and started another family and they get married, and so I have a ton of relatives down in Memphis, tennessee area And I'm a very, very successful from my understanding. So I have a very large family, so to speak. So that's kind of my story from a nutshell. Why don't I? Yeah, i'm blessed. I've been truly blessed Been teaching Sunday school at St Stephens over 25 years, so now I'm in the senior department.

13:12 Speaker 1: So that's it. You had spoken of how you discovered the situation with the proskate. Yes, yeah, doing a routine physical Mm-hmm. Before then. Was there any other? I mean, were you, were you feverish, did you have body aches or anything like that? Speaker 2: Did not have any symptoms whatsoever. And when the urologist said city of hope, like I said, it wasn't until they did the biopsy. when they found the traces of the five different areas of cancer and the prostate. You couldn't see anything. I didn't have any problems with my urine, my prostate was normal. So on the outside, on the surface, everything looked fine. It was just on the inside. It's when things were growing and starting to spread a little bit. That's when they were able to discover it. But no, I had no issues whatsoever. That's why they were kind of surprised at the age of 58. Because they told me I was relatively young to have that.

14:24 So, and without me knowing my family history or background, you know, i was really kind of stoned that they found that. Speaker 1: So is that? is that typical that people don't have symptoms? Speaker 2: Yeah, So yes, and no. Dr Chattalka speak this better and I could. There are some instances where you don't really have to have any symptoms to have the cancer in you. You don't. Now, with things being the way they are I mean, they're starting to look, according to what my urologist told me more patients are trying to come in who don't have any symptoms that they've been able to find in the prostate. I was like, wow, this is the new world that has kind of opened up in that area.

15:09 So. But I could tell you guys this a former coworker of mine, that's about four years older than me, was concerned. He has prostate started to elevate and I sent him over to the city of Hope and now he's a patient over there. So, and so I. That's why , when I was first diagnosed and just went through this, the first thing I did was I said let me open my mouth and just tell people about it. This is something you should keep to yourself, especially for men. You know we have. We've always had a hard time expressing ourselves when it comes to talking about and Dr Chattalka and related to that, about symptoms and problems we may have. But this is something that I always say is a silent killer , because, outside of heart disease, prostate cancer is the next thing that takes us out.

16:00 And when I told Reverend Dockry about it and I even told some of my fraternity brothers about it I said this is something you guys got to really stay on top of. I don't care how old you are , don't sleep on this, go to your doctor on a regular basis and get your PSH, because you just never know. They watched out that I got it because of my diet and how strict I am and the way I take care of myself. But I said that can happen to me and happen to anybody. So it doesn't matter how healthy you are, it's acceptable to it. Speaker 3: So you know and that's an important point. You bring up, James, that a lot of times we think pardon what we see on television or friends or whatever that we have control over a lot of this, but we really don't. And, as you mentioned, you know if it's in your genes or, however, and sometimes we don't know how it occurs. It just occurs, That's right, And so you just sort of have to have the regular checkups. You also mentioned some of those extremely important men. We men don't live as long as women, And one some suggests is because we don't do what you intelligently did, which was go to your doctor, have regular checkups and follow through. A lot of times we have the checkup but we don't follow through. That's correct, And I think you're a classic example of what doing it the right way of doing it the right way And hopefully more people more men particularly, but men and women will pay attention and follow up .

17:34 Speaker 2: They should Dr Jack tell. This is you just have to, and I credit my wife to this. We make sure that we go to the dentist. We get our checkups on a regular basis. I don't miss and just been, particularly now that I've been through this, not only did I miss that, but I'm very sturgent when it comes to the city of hope, because after the procedure I was the one that requested and thank God I have the insurance to do it Can I get physical therapy? Because I think it's important to be able to get back to my normal routine and my normal lifestyle. And I'm glad I did, because I've been through two physical therapy sessions and I've had some great exercise routines that I've been taught that I'm utilizing. And I do go to the gym, but at the gym I'm not obviously doing my routine there because I'm building myself back up again, but it's very important. I mean this is nothing to sleep on. You really got to do your due diligence and do your checkup. And then also, i mean I went as far before my urologist. When I first met my urologist, i did a background on it, i had a check with other urologists And I even went as far as to check his background terms of academically, where do you go to medical school? That was important to me. So I just think it's important to do your

19:06 due diligence because I chose the right person, because this guy was very aggressive when it came to that. So I'm quite pleased. I'm quite happy guys. I can tell you today I feel great , i have a great outlook on life and I'm just willing to share with anybody that's willing to listen. I just think it's important to do it. I've told my kids because I have three adult male kids you got to get your prostate checked. It's in the genes. So if I got it, it means you will get it. So I can't worry about what happened in the generation before. I can just tell you what's going on now. So you guys got to do it.

19:47 Speaker 1: So there's no real lifestyle change or anything like that that a person can apply to their life to help reduce the risk or is there? Speaker 2: I stopped eating red meat over 25 years ago, 30 years ago And, like I said, i watched my diet He extremely. What I felt was healthy, exercise and take care of myself, so had nothing to do with it, yeah. Speaker 3: And I think that's the key, james, it has nothing to do with it. And a lot of times we think, well, you know, if I go to the gym, if I do this , if I do that, then things won't happen to me. Yes, they will, because, to your point, james, it has nothing to do with it. Whether you get cancer or you do not get cancer many times is not related to your lifestyle, correct, is not related to your lifestyle. Now, certainly, you want to have a good lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle, because that's beneficial both mentally as well as physically, but it is not an isolate one or make one immune from getting things like cancer, and that's why the checkups and those types of things are so important.

20:58 Speaker 2: They really are, and that's something. Yeah, i just tell men all the time, and young men too. You got to do it, absolutely You got to do it, and I think I brought it up to you, dr Chaktao, about possibly maybe something at the church where we can present it to some of the men there and just let them know. This is what you need to do. Maybe once or twice a year, just have a regular PSA check there. You never know, during hell of a week, what have you? because you just have to. Just, you don't want. This is the kind of thing that I found out too. This is not only sneak up on you, it could take you out And you won't even know it. Because had I just brushed it off and said well, you know what all my other levels are, well, why do I have to worry about this PSA? Then it's not telling what would happen, you know, because it could have metastasized inside of my body and they'd not have had another issue. So I'm more deadly. So I'm just glad that I listened and paid attention and did my follow-up and did my due diligence. You got to do your due diligence. You got to read and ask questions, be informed. I ask a ton of questions, good good, and I have the opportunity to send emails to my doctor and ask questions. Anything I have or didn't understand, they responded right away. Now, obviously after the procedure.

22:28 Then his physician assistant took over because he did the major part, and so she's the one I've been in contact with And I see her now every three months. So I was seeing them on a regular every month or four, two years. Now it's just seeing her every third month and they check my PSA. Last time they checked it was unrecognizable, so that was good. So now I'll come back in three more months and we'll see. Speaker 1: So the likelihood of it recurring is low. Speaker 2: Well, they say it and tell me if I'm wrong, dr Chaitao, he said it's about 85% to 90%. It all depends. They couldn't give me a finite number , but because they caught it in me as early as they did and because I'm relatively healthy, they said I stand a chance possibly not getting it again.

23:27 Speaker 3: I would sort of agree with that. I mean, you never say never And that's why you do checkups and that's it. But I would think it would be very small. Speaker 2: Right, that's what they related to me, but hey, i'm still going to go and have them get to take that blood test, because you just never know. Yeah, and I want to know anyway, exactly, and I can tell you guys this too The month before excuse me, not the month the week before I actually had the procedure they did a I don't know if you're familiar with this, dr Chaitao they did a nuclear on me. So, in other words, they shot me with a nuclear medicine And they did a complete scan from the top of my head to the bottom of my foot.

24:11 That could tell me everything that was going on in my body And the two things that they found. In other words, they're able to tell me what my future may look like. So in the future I got to continue to walk straight, because if I don't, i may develop a curve in my back And I may develop some arthritis in my knees. that may happen, but other than that, everything else is relatively OK. And then one more thing too. They actually did do this as well. They did a family check, a historical check , when they check my blood, just to see if it's something that is hereditary. And they didn't found it as being hereditary for my family, at least back then. So I mean that was two years ago , i don't know.

24:57 Speaker 3: Well, it's interesting you bring that up, because one of the things that's happening in healthcare and we've even talked about it on some of our podcasts is how artificial intelligence is becoming more and more and more involved with healthcare, where the machines are smarter because algorithms based on data that's a larger pool. So as time goes on, we will get more predictive analytics type of information about our health. Speaker 2: That's correct. Speaker 3: Well, listen, James, we cannot thank you enough for taking time out of your business schedule to come and share this with us. We will certainly do the things that need to be done so that we can get this out. And you're young, I've known you for years and I remember when you used to come to my medical office and whatever and do your research of pharmaceuticals, and I'm happy to see that you're still healthy, wealthy and wise.

26:03 Speaker 2: Yes, very, very much so. Well, I'm still working on the wise part. Speaker 3: That's okay, we all are. But, yes, i'm very, very happy to have a great day You too. You take care, guys. Speaker 1: All right, you too, thanks for listening to the Healthy, wealthy and Wise podcast with Dr William Choctaw, mdjd. We hope you enjoyed this episode and, if you found it helpful, you can support and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform with the keywords Dr William Choctaw. Click on the support the show and you've got it. This will also help ensure that you don't miss any future episodes, and then share this podcast with your family, friends and or your coworkers. They'll be glad you did So. until the next time, live your best possible life the best possible way.