Empowering Men to Conquer Prostate Cancer and Prioritize Health

1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,404 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Healthy, Wealthy and Wise 2 00:00:02,524 --> 00:00:08,064 podcast with Dr William Chokta, MDJD. Our mission is to empower 3 00:00:08,125 --> 00:00:11,897 you with the knowledge and the tools you need to thrive in all 4 00:00:12,099 --> 00:00:16,184 aspects of your lives. Join us now as we discuss everything 5 00:00:16,285 --> 00:00:19,842 from nutrition and exercise to money management and personal 6 00:00:19,862 --> 00:00:24,733 growth. Dr Chokta will provide insightful advice on how to 7 00:00:24,774 --> 00:00:28,064 improve your physical and financial health, as well as 8 00:00:28,103 --> 00:00:31,460 your emotional and mental well-being. Whether you're 9 00:00:31,481 --> 00:00:35,930 looking to boost your energy levels, unlock financial freedom 10 00:00:35,930 --> 00:00:40,207 or cultivate a more positive mindset, we've got you covered. 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,901 Get ready to become the best version of yourself? So let's 12 00:00:45,941 --> 00:00:49,375 get started. Here's Dr William Chokta, MDJD. 13 00:00:50,969 --> 00:00:53,084 Speaker 2: Well, thank you, dr Chokta, And also thank you, 14 00:00:53,124 --> 00:00:58,219 jesse. I really appreciate it. Basically, my story is this I 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:05,730 would say in 2021, just a regular checkup visit with my 16 00:01:05,772 --> 00:01:11,942 doctor, and he said you know, your PSA is elevated, and so 17 00:01:11,962 --> 00:01:16,150 because the normal score is 4.0, and mine had elevated to 4.6. 18 00:01:17,659 --> 00:01:21,028 And so he suggested that we take another look at it, say in 19 00:01:21,067 --> 00:01:24,801 about three or four months, and then go from there. So I didn't 20 00:01:24,820 --> 00:01:27,503 think anything of it, because I eat healthy, i exercise on a 21 00:01:27,524 --> 00:01:32,843 regular basis, i take care of myself, and so I ended up going 22 00:01:32,884 --> 00:01:38,972 back taking another blood test and it still was at the same 23 00:01:39,033 --> 00:01:42,405 number, and so he was kind of getting a little concerned 24 00:01:42,444 --> 00:01:47,063 because for me at that time, only being 58 years old, he 25 00:01:47,102 --> 00:01:51,712 thought when I was kind of young , to have, you know, a PSA with 26 00:01:51,751 --> 00:01:57,911 that score. So he suggested I go to the city of Hope and just 27 00:01:57,971 --> 00:02:03,099 have them take a look at it, and so I decided to do that, and 28 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,484 I'll never forget December of 2021. I had an opportunity to go 29 00:02:07,484 --> 00:02:13,109 there, And when they first did the initial blood test, 30 00:02:13,530 --> 00:02:18,145 obviously they solved the score, but then after that, when they 31 00:02:18,185 --> 00:02:21,912 did, when they checked the area around the prostate. Everything 32 00:02:21,953 --> 00:02:26,164 felt normal. It wasn't enlarged, i wasn't having any symptoms or 33 00:02:26,164 --> 00:02:30,520 anything like that. So they decided to do a biopsy And in a 34 00:02:30,561 --> 00:02:34,758 biopsy they found five different little specs that showed that I 35 00:02:34,758 --> 00:02:37,288 had to be getting a prostate cancer in five different areas, 36 00:02:37,367 --> 00:02:41,302 in particular on the right side of my prostate. And so from 37 00:02:41,383 --> 00:02:46,325 there I became a patient And they began to monitor me from 38 00:02:46,385 --> 00:02:51,080 December of 2021 to when I actually had the removal on 39 00:02:51,161 --> 00:02:54,664 April 5th 2023. But the interesting thing, guys, i 40 00:02:54,705 --> 00:02:57,881 didn't do anything different. I kept my same diet, i kept 41 00:02:57,961 --> 00:03:00,669 exercising, taking care of myself, getting plenty of rest. 42 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,685 But my prostate started to elevate And it went from 4.6 to 43 00:03:08,527 --> 00:03:15,800 6.6 in a year's period of time, and then from 6.6 in 2022 to 44 00:03:15,881 --> 00:03:25,028 2023, it went all the way up to 10.367. That was the final 45 00:03:25,068 --> 00:03:30,228 diagnosed for me on February 28, 2023. I couldn't believe that 46 00:03:30,268 --> 00:03:33,474 it elevated that high and it wasn't just the right time. I 47 00:03:33,495 --> 00:03:37,429 prostrated at the time. It had shifted over to the left side 48 00:03:38,189 --> 00:03:43,516 and that's where the real concern was. Because they just 49 00:03:43,576 --> 00:03:49,349 felt that at that point There's time to do something about it, 50 00:03:49,409 --> 00:03:56,240 because they just didn't want it to metastasize my body at all. 51 00:03:59,050 --> 00:04:02,896 I went with my urologist. I got a chance to talk to him and 52 00:04:03,198 --> 00:04:06,531 spend time with him. He said you know you have options. You're 53 00:04:06,550 --> 00:04:09,706 still relatively young. I wasn't even 60 yet. He said you're 54 00:04:09,747 --> 00:04:14,048 relatively young, we can do radiation. I said no, i don't 55 00:04:14,068 --> 00:04:17,745 want that in my body, or we can just do the removal. I'll let 56 00:04:17,766 --> 00:04:21,834 you know when we can do that. That's when they decided to go 57 00:04:21,875 --> 00:04:25,475 ahead and do the removal process . What I wasn't thinking about I 58 00:04:25,475 --> 00:04:27,766 did a lot of reading and research on it. I wasn't 59 00:04:27,846 --> 00:04:30,944 thinking what the after effects of that removal would be. I said 60 00:04:30,944 --> 00:04:34,773 , oh, it's no big deal, it's just a small walnut inside of me 61 00:04:34,773 --> 00:04:37,745 that they take out and I'll be back to normal again. That 62 00:04:37,865 --> 00:04:43,795 wasn't the case. Actually, the actual removal on April 5th I 63 00:04:43,875 --> 00:04:47,906 had to have a catheter in me for seven days And then after that 64 00:04:48,206 --> 00:04:54,456 I also have been going to a physical therapy for twice a 65 00:04:54,497 --> 00:04:59,312 week, still at the City of Hope. So I'm back exercising, but it 66 00:04:59,372 --> 00:05:02,490 hasn't been the same. I'm still getting in contact, obviously in 67 00:05:02,490 --> 00:05:06,571 continents. I'm working on that and just being able to get back 68 00:05:06,571 --> 00:05:11,086 to my normal life. But things have taken a change. But the 69 00:05:11,125 --> 00:05:14,632 interesting part I couldn't find any one of my family who 70 00:05:14,711 --> 00:05:17,978 actually had it, to tell you a little short story about my 71 00:05:18,038 --> 00:05:21,048 family. You and I have something in common, dr Chakta. My family 72 00:05:21,048 --> 00:05:24,968 my dad's a rooting from Tennessee And I have a ton of 73 00:05:25,009 --> 00:05:27,911 relatives down there I've never met before in the City of 74 00:05:27,951 --> 00:05:32,810 Memphis, tennessee, and so Tim Robinson got me in contact with 75 00:05:32,831 --> 00:05:35,836 one of my cousins, and he's the only one these 10 years older 76 00:05:35,857 --> 00:05:38,968 than me, the only one that I know of, that had prostate 77 00:05:39,209 --> 00:05:42,875 issues, and we're more of a distant cousin than we are a 78 00:05:43,817 --> 00:05:48,273 close related cousin So. But my other relatives, none of them 79 00:05:48,613 --> 00:05:53,153 have any prostate issues. None of them had any. Everything is 80 00:05:53,213 --> 00:05:55,786 fine with them and they're mostly in their 70s. I'm the 81 00:05:55,906 --> 00:06:00,516 only one and I'm 60 now that actually has had prostate 82 00:06:00,557 --> 00:06:04,994 removal. So that's basically my story in a nutshell. 83 00:06:07,687 --> 00:06:10,713 Speaker 3: Oh, what message would you want to give to other 84 00:06:12,677 --> 00:06:17,848 individuals, particularly men, about your stories? What lessons 85 00:06:17,848 --> 00:06:18,490 did you learn? 86 00:06:19,444 --> 00:06:22,069 Speaker 2: Even though I was healthy, i mean I had. When I 87 00:06:22,089 --> 00:06:25,596 say healthy, don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart 88 00:06:25,615 --> 00:06:30,189 problems, any things. Each relatively healthy meal, watch 89 00:06:30,230 --> 00:06:35,004 everything I eat, make sure I get an up, rest, exercise. I 90 00:06:35,024 --> 00:06:39,326 would just tell men, it doesn't really matter If you're not sure 91 00:06:39,326 --> 00:06:45,697 or don't know what your history of in terms of prostate, you 92 00:06:45,757 --> 00:06:48,706 should have yourself check as early as 35. Because, believe it 93 00:06:48,706 --> 00:06:51,170 or not, that's actually when I started to get my prostate 94 00:06:51,189 --> 00:06:54,877 checked, because I lost my dad at 49, but it wasn't from 95 00:06:54,918 --> 00:06:58,473 prostate. He had heart problems, heart disease at the end, large 96 00:06:58,473 --> 00:07:03,454 heart, and so I wasn't quite sure and I started reading about 97 00:07:03,454 --> 00:07:06,668 prostate cancer And I just said you know, this is something 98 00:07:06,709 --> 00:07:10,716 that African American males experience a lot earlier than 99 00:07:10,776 --> 00:07:15,149 most other ethnicities. I need to look at this because you 100 00:07:15,189 --> 00:07:19,437 never know. So from the age of 35 until now I've been having my 101 00:07:19,437 --> 00:07:22,269 prostate check on a regular basis. But I would tell men and 102 00:07:22,309 --> 00:07:25,166 it doesn't matter what ethnicity you are, i'll tell them, get 103 00:07:25,206 --> 00:07:28,677 your prostate checked early, get it checked early, 35 years old, 104 00:07:28,677 --> 00:07:32,005 i mean, don't mess around. I was very fortunate Just a 105 00:07:32,185 --> 00:07:38,858 routine physical exam that my doctor spotted the elevation of 106 00:07:38,918 --> 00:07:43,009 my PSA And from there, i was able to go and have the city of 107 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:48,379 home be able to take care of me all the way up until the removal 108 00:07:48,379 --> 00:07:52,812 . So I will tell them you got to get yourself checked, whether 109 00:07:52,853 --> 00:07:55,877 it's with your position or just in general. There's so many 110 00:07:55,898 --> 00:07:59,293 different areas Now you can go in terms of getting a PSA check. 111 00:07:59,293 --> 00:08:04,785 You got to do it. It's just important. So I really do. I 112 00:08:04,805 --> 00:08:08,434 think it's in fact, i know it's important because not all did 113 00:08:08,454 --> 00:08:11,369 they catch it early, but they caught it while I'm still 114 00:08:11,470 --> 00:08:15,208 relatively young and healthy, right. So that's why I decided 115 00:08:15,228 --> 00:08:18,754 to do the removal part, as opposed to some men who wait 116 00:08:18,834 --> 00:08:23,548 till later on And then they don't have that option. So, but 117 00:08:23,610 --> 00:08:26,206 I had options. So that's why you want to get a check. You want 118 00:08:26,225 --> 00:08:30,269 to get a check early and stay on top of it. So that would be my 119 00:08:30,329 --> 00:08:30,670 message. 120 00:08:32,846 --> 00:08:35,886 Speaker 3: And also tell us a little about yourself, You know 121 00:08:35,927 --> 00:08:39,265 what do you do for a living? Where'd you go to school? Just a 122 00:08:39,265 --> 00:08:42,005 little brief bio, brief bio, well. 123 00:08:42,246 --> 00:08:45,006 Speaker 2: I grew up in Southern California. I was very 124 00:08:45,067 --> 00:08:49,405 fortunate. I grew up what they call Southwest LA. So I grew up 125 00:08:49,506 --> 00:08:55,510 near the Western Imperial side, near Southwest College, not too 126 00:08:55,572 --> 00:08:59,562 far, believe it or not, from those two blocks South of 127 00:08:59,682 --> 00:09:06,208 Englewood and two blocks, i guess you could say, northwest 128 00:09:06,269 --> 00:09:10,388 of Parthon. My parents, like I said, my dad, was from Memphis, 129 00:09:10,408 --> 00:09:14,023 tennessee. He was in the Air Force. He came out and met my 130 00:09:14,063 --> 00:09:19,847 mom back in the late 50s. She was from Louisiana and I was 131 00:09:19,888 --> 00:09:24,105 very fortunate to be born here in Southern Cal. I went to all 132 00:09:24,145 --> 00:09:27,422 private schools. I went to a private grammar school, i went 133 00:09:27,442 --> 00:09:29,970 to a private high school, a loyal high school downtown LA. 134 00:09:30,780 --> 00:09:35,000 It's the oldest private all boys high school in California. It 135 00:09:35,039 --> 00:09:40,724 was created in, i believe, 1859. You guys have heard of Loyola 136 00:09:40,764 --> 00:09:44,326 Maramot University. That was birthed out of there and Loyola 137 00:09:44,365 --> 00:09:49,446 Law School was birthed out of there too. And then from there I 138 00:09:49,446 --> 00:09:51,842 decided to go to a private college. I went to a black 139 00:09:51,863 --> 00:09:53,659 college called the David University of New Orleans. I 140 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,301 thought at one time I wanted to be a pharmacist. We had a 141 00:09:57,341 --> 00:09:59,884 pharmacist in our family that kept saying you got to go to 142 00:09:59,904 --> 00:10:02,129 Xavier, you got to go to Xavier. It's a great school. 143 00:10:02,229 --> 00:10:04,894 Speaker 3: I remember Xavier, i know. For the rest, Yeah. 144 00:10:05,220 --> 00:10:08,528 Speaker 2: So I went down there take a look at that pharmacy 145 00:10:08,589 --> 00:10:14,163 program, dr Sattonsi, i don't know if this is for me. And so 146 00:10:14,768 --> 00:10:17,020 what I did was I became a pre-law major. So I was a 147 00:10:17,061 --> 00:10:21,121 pre-law international relations major And from there I got a 148 00:10:21,182 --> 00:10:24,261 chance to learn a little bit about politics. I got involved 149 00:10:24,302 --> 00:10:27,222 in a little bit of politics there. I decided to come back to 150 00:10:27,222 --> 00:10:29,708 Southern California and, believe it or not, my first job 151 00:10:30,028 --> 00:10:34,306 I volunteered for Tom Bradley. He was running for governor the 152 00:10:34,346 --> 00:10:37,393 mayor but he was running for governor the second time. Okay, 153 00:10:37,759 --> 00:10:40,951 had an opportunity to work on his campaign, got a paid staff 154 00:10:40,971 --> 00:10:45,485 position and then decided that I had an opportunity to believe 155 00:10:45,524 --> 00:10:48,049 it or not to work for a council person in West Chester, 156 00:10:48,110 --> 00:10:50,844 california. I didn't want to interview for the position, but 157 00:10:50,903 --> 00:10:54,982 I thought at the time I just didn't have a heart to get into 158 00:10:55,023 --> 00:10:57,369 politics because I just didn't like the direction it was 159 00:10:57,409 --> 00:11:01,063 heading in and I want to be a part of it. And so I decided to 160 00:11:01,104 --> 00:11:04,668 get in sales. And so from then on I've had a career in sales 161 00:11:04,707 --> 00:11:08,269 over 30 years. I've worked in different, various forms of 162 00:11:08,308 --> 00:11:11,903 sales. I worked at one time with Pepsi Cola. I also had the 163 00:11:11,962 --> 00:11:15,297 opportunity where I saw UC frequently Dr Chattow, working 164 00:11:15,376 --> 00:11:17,384 in the local industry for seven years. 165 00:11:17,787 --> 00:11:20,245 Speaker 3: Right, and then we just come to my office. Yeah, i 166 00:11:20,265 --> 00:11:20,527 did. 167 00:11:21,682 --> 00:11:25,981 Speaker 2: So that was a lot of fun It was. It was getting a 168 00:11:26,022 --> 00:11:30,721 chance to meet the doctors and detail them, and then from there 169 00:11:30,721 --> 00:11:35,304 I worked for a company called Office Depot, and then that's 170 00:11:35,345 --> 00:11:38,184 where I've been. I've been in sales now for over 30 years and 171 00:11:38,205 --> 00:11:42,643 I'm still working, but I'm on a tail end of my career. I hope to 172 00:11:42,643 --> 00:11:45,571 one day be able to be like you, dr Chattow, if you retire. 173 00:11:47,806 --> 00:11:49,671 Speaker 3: You know we might have you do a podcast. 174 00:11:50,182 --> 00:11:54,245 Speaker 2: Yeah, you never know. You never know. But during that 175 00:11:54,245 --> 00:11:59,488 time period I was married My first time. My first wife had a 176 00:11:59,567 --> 00:12:04,307 son. He's now 31. And then I met my second wife at St Stephens. 177 00:12:05,259 --> 00:12:10,969 We've been together now, as of June 2nd this year, 22 years. So 178 00:12:10,969 --> 00:12:15,664 so I have a blended family. I have three grown sons and eight 179 00:12:15,684 --> 00:12:21,604 grandkids. Wow, wow, Congrats. How that happened I don't know, 180 00:12:21,644 --> 00:12:28,034 man, but unfortunately. You know the funny part coming to St 181 00:12:28,076 --> 00:12:30,864 Stephens I met Tim and Tim has been able to connect me with a 182 00:12:30,884 --> 00:12:33,923 lot of my relatives in Memphis Because, like I said, my 183 00:12:33,962 --> 00:12:37,711 grandfather had three sets of. Well, the first set was my 184 00:12:37,770 --> 00:12:41,486 father, my aunt and uncle, and I never met my uncle, but I knew 185 00:12:41,506 --> 00:12:45,162 my aunt And then he didn't marry my grandmother, he went and 186 00:12:45,221 --> 00:12:49,082 started another family and they get married, and so I have a ton 187 00:12:49,082 --> 00:12:54,164 of relatives down in Memphis, tennessee area And I'm a very, 188 00:12:54,225 --> 00:12:57,322 very successful from my understanding. So I have a very 189 00:12:57,442 --> 00:13:03,770 large family, so to speak. So that's kind of my story from a 190 00:13:03,811 --> 00:13:07,445 nutshell. Why don't I? Yeah, i'm blessed. I've been truly 191 00:13:07,485 --> 00:13:10,288 blessed Been teaching Sunday school at St Stephens over 25 192 00:13:10,347 --> 00:13:12,952 years, so now I'm in the senior department. 193 00:13:12,993 --> 00:13:18,647 Speaker 1: So that's it. You had spoken of how you discovered 194 00:13:20,188 --> 00:13:25,703 the situation with the proskate. Yes, yeah, doing a routine 195 00:13:25,764 --> 00:13:31,287 physical Mm-hmm. Before then. Was there any other? I mean, 196 00:13:31,727 --> 00:13:39,330 were you, were you feverish, did you have body aches or anything 197 00:13:39,330 --> 00:13:39,812 like that? 198 00:13:40,580 --> 00:13:45,601 Speaker 2: Did not have any symptoms whatsoever. And when 199 00:13:46,124 --> 00:13:50,119 the urologist said city of hope, like I said, it wasn't until 200 00:13:50,158 --> 00:13:53,946 they did the biopsy. when they found the traces of the five 201 00:13:53,985 --> 00:13:59,014 different areas of cancer and the prostate. You couldn't see 202 00:13:59,073 --> 00:14:03,481 anything. I didn't have any problems with my urine, my 203 00:14:04,445 --> 00:14:08,086 prostate was normal. So on the outside, on the surface, 204 00:14:08,145 --> 00:14:11,380 everything looked fine. It was just on the inside. It's when 205 00:14:11,421 --> 00:14:14,201 things were growing and starting to spread a little bit. That's 206 00:14:14,221 --> 00:14:16,905 when they were able to discover it. But no, I had no issues 207 00:14:17,005 --> 00:14:19,804 whatsoever. That's why they were kind of surprised at the age of 208 00:14:19,804 --> 00:14:24,327 58. Because they told me I was relatively young to have that. 209 00:14:24,639 --> 00:14:28,575 So, and without me knowing my family history or background, 210 00:14:29,177 --> 00:14:31,787 you know, i was really kind of stoned that they found that. 211 00:14:32,761 --> 00:14:35,388 Speaker 1: So is that? is that typical that people don't have 212 00:14:35,467 --> 00:14:36,048 symptoms? 213 00:14:36,890 --> 00:14:42,788 Speaker 2: Yeah, So yes, and no. Dr Chattalka speak this better 214 00:14:42,807 --> 00:14:46,506 and I could. There are some instances where you don't really 215 00:14:46,506 --> 00:14:51,640 have to have any symptoms to have the cancer in you. You 216 00:14:51,681 --> 00:14:55,355 don't. Now, with things being the way they are I mean, they're 217 00:14:55,355 --> 00:14:58,485 starting to look, according to what my urologist told me more 218 00:14:58,544 --> 00:15:02,201 patients are trying to come in who don't have any symptoms that 219 00:15:02,201 --> 00:15:05,854 they've been able to find in the prostate. I was like, wow, 220 00:15:06,134 --> 00:15:09,082 this is the new world that has kind of opened up in that area. 221 00:15:09,123 --> 00:15:15,553 So. But I could tell you guys this a former coworker of mine, 222 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,894 that's about four years older than me, was concerned. He has 223 00:15:19,955 --> 00:15:22,764 prostate started to elevate and I sent him over to the city of 224 00:15:22,825 --> 00:15:29,028 Hope and now he's a patient over there. So, and so I. That's why 225 00:15:29,028 --> 00:15:32,238 , when I was first diagnosed and just went through this, the 226 00:15:32,278 --> 00:15:35,450 first thing I did was I said let me open my mouth and just tell 227 00:15:35,510 --> 00:15:38,282 people about it. This is something you should keep to 228 00:15:38,322 --> 00:15:42,274 yourself, especially for men. You know we have. We've always 229 00:15:42,315 --> 00:15:44,923 had a hard time expressing ourselves when it comes to 230 00:15:44,964 --> 00:15:48,775 talking about and Dr Chattalka and related to that, about 231 00:15:49,798 --> 00:15:52,966 symptoms and problems we may have. But this is something that 232 00:15:52,966 --> 00:15:56,342 I always say is a silent killer , because, outside of heart 233 00:15:56,383 --> 00:16:00,115 disease, prostate cancer is the next thing that takes us out. 234 00:16:00,756 --> 00:16:05,589 And when I told Reverend Dockry about it and I even told some of 235 00:16:05,589 --> 00:16:08,562 my fraternity brothers about it I said this is something you 236 00:16:08,582 --> 00:16:11,331 guys got to really stay on top of. I don't care how old you are 237 00:16:11,331 --> 00:16:14,952 , don't sleep on this, go to your doctor on a regular basis 238 00:16:15,013 --> 00:16:18,245 and get your PSH, because you just never know. They watched 239 00:16:18,365 --> 00:16:23,038 out that I got it because of my diet and how strict I am and the 240 00:16:23,038 --> 00:16:26,630 way I take care of myself. But I said that can happen to me and 241 00:16:26,630 --> 00:16:30,263 happen to anybody. So it doesn't matter how healthy you 242 00:16:30,403 --> 00:16:33,490 are, it's acceptable to it. 243 00:16:33,711 --> 00:16:37,059 Speaker 3: So you know and that's an important point. You 244 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:42,169 bring up, James, that a lot of times we think pardon what we 245 00:16:42,190 --> 00:16:45,605 see on television or friends or whatever that we have control 246 00:16:45,706 --> 00:16:48,677 over a lot of this, but we really don't. And, as you 247 00:16:48,717 --> 00:16:51,889 mentioned, you know if it's in your genes or, however, and 248 00:16:51,928 --> 00:16:55,923 sometimes we don't know how it occurs. It just occurs, That's 249 00:16:55,982 --> 00:16:59,193 right, And so you just sort of have to have the regular 250 00:16:59,234 --> 00:17:01,942 checkups. You also mentioned some of those extremely 251 00:17:01,982 --> 00:17:07,176 important men. We men don't live as long as women, And one some 252 00:17:07,297 --> 00:17:11,406 suggests is because we don't do what you intelligently did, 253 00:17:11,887 --> 00:17:15,281 which was go to your doctor, have regular checkups and follow 254 00:17:15,281 --> 00:17:17,990 through. A lot of times we have the checkup but we don't follow 255 00:17:17,990 --> 00:17:21,911 through. That's correct, And I think you're a classic example 256 00:17:22,471 --> 00:17:26,001 of what doing it the right way of doing it the right way And 257 00:17:26,042 --> 00:17:30,432 hopefully more people more men particularly, but men and women 258 00:17:30,472 --> 00:17:34,204 will pay attention and follow up . 259 00:17:34,767 --> 00:17:37,752 Speaker 2: They should Dr Jack tell. This is you just have to, 260 00:17:38,539 --> 00:17:41,734 and I credit my wife to this. We make sure that we go to the 261 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:46,204 dentist. We get our checkups on a regular basis. I don't miss 262 00:17:47,268 --> 00:17:52,384 and just been, particularly now that I've been through this, not 263 00:17:52,384 --> 00:17:58,528 only did I miss that, but I'm very sturgent when it comes to 264 00:17:58,548 --> 00:18:02,661 the city of hope, because after the procedure I was the one that 265 00:18:02,661 --> 00:18:07,290 requested and thank God I have the insurance to do it Can I get 266 00:18:07,290 --> 00:18:11,846 physical therapy? Because I think it's important to be able 267 00:18:11,905 --> 00:18:17,702 to get back to my normal routine and my normal lifestyle. And 268 00:18:17,742 --> 00:18:20,269 I'm glad I did, because I've been through two physical 269 00:18:20,328 --> 00:18:24,123 therapy sessions and I've had some great exercise routines 270 00:18:24,143 --> 00:18:28,432 that I've been taught that I'm utilizing. And I do go to the 271 00:18:28,512 --> 00:18:32,847 gym, but at the gym I'm not obviously doing my routine there 272 00:18:32,847 --> 00:18:37,406 because I'm building myself back up again, but it's very 273 00:18:37,467 --> 00:18:40,838 important. I mean this is nothing to sleep on. You really 274 00:18:40,878 --> 00:18:45,390 got to do your due diligence and do your checkup. And then also, 275 00:18:45,390 --> 00:18:49,686 i mean I went as far before my urologist. When I first met my 276 00:18:49,767 --> 00:18:54,565 urologist, i did a background on it, i had a check with other 277 00:18:54,684 --> 00:18:59,720 urologists And I even went as far as to check his background 278 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,209 terms of academically, where do you go to medical school? That 279 00:19:03,229 --> 00:19:06,686 was important to me. So I just think it's important to do your 280 00:19:06,707 --> 00:19:10,020 due diligence because I chose the right person, because this 281 00:19:10,101 --> 00:19:17,337 guy was very aggressive when it came to that. So I'm quite 282 00:19:17,377 --> 00:19:20,305 pleased. I'm quite happy guys. I can tell you today I feel great 283 00:19:20,305 --> 00:19:24,433 , i have a great outlook on life and I'm just willing to share 284 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,567 with anybody that's willing to listen. I just think it's 285 00:19:28,627 --> 00:19:32,643 important to do it. I've told my kids because I have three adult 286 00:19:32,643 --> 00:19:35,730 male kids you got to get your prostate checked. It's in the 287 00:19:35,750 --> 00:19:40,376 genes. So if I got it, it means you will get it. So I can't 288 00:19:40,396 --> 00:19:42,723 worry about what happened in the generation before. I can just 289 00:19:42,743 --> 00:19:46,772 tell you what's going on now. So you guys got to do it. 290 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,686 Speaker 1: So there's no real lifestyle change or anything 291 00:19:51,727 --> 00:19:57,001 like that that a person can apply to their life to help 292 00:19:57,083 --> 00:19:58,787 reduce the risk or is there? 293 00:19:59,548 --> 00:20:03,277 Speaker 2: I stopped eating red meat over 25 years ago, 30 years 294 00:20:03,277 --> 00:20:09,244 ago And, like I said, i watched my diet He extremely. What I 295 00:20:09,305 --> 00:20:14,502 felt was healthy, exercise and take care of myself, so had 296 00:20:14,523 --> 00:20:16,068 nothing to do with it, yeah. 297 00:20:17,383 --> 00:20:19,682 Speaker 3: And I think that's the key, james, it has nothing 298 00:20:19,702 --> 00:20:22,729 to do with it. And a lot of times we think, well, you know, 299 00:20:22,819 --> 00:20:26,723 if I go to the gym, if I do this , if I do that, then things 300 00:20:26,784 --> 00:20:29,903 won't happen to me. Yes, they will, because, to your point, 301 00:20:29,942 --> 00:20:34,084 james, it has nothing to do with it. Whether you get cancer or 302 00:20:34,144 --> 00:20:37,943 you do not get cancer many times is not related to your 303 00:20:38,045 --> 00:20:41,760 lifestyle, correct, is not related to your lifestyle. Now, 304 00:20:41,780 --> 00:20:43,801 certainly, you want to have a good lifestyle and a healthy 305 00:20:43,821 --> 00:20:47,468 lifestyle, because that's beneficial both mentally as well 306 00:20:47,468 --> 00:20:52,771 as physically, but it is not an isolate one or make one immune 307 00:20:52,940 --> 00:20:56,224 from getting things like cancer, and that's why the checkups and 308 00:20:56,224 --> 00:20:57,942 those types of things are so important. 309 00:20:58,265 --> 00:21:01,282 Speaker 2: They really are, and that's something. Yeah, i just 310 00:21:01,303 --> 00:21:04,663 tell men all the time, and young men too. You got to do it, 311 00:21:05,220 --> 00:21:09,025 absolutely You got to do it, and I think I brought it up to you, 312 00:21:09,025 --> 00:21:12,689 dr Chaktao, about possibly maybe something at the church 313 00:21:14,403 --> 00:21:17,000 where we can present it to some of the men there and just let 314 00:21:17,020 --> 00:21:22,363 them know. This is what you need to do. Maybe once or twice a 315 00:21:22,443 --> 00:21:25,842 year, just have a regular PSA check there. You never know, 316 00:21:25,882 --> 00:21:29,925 during hell of a week, what have you? because you just have to. 317 00:21:29,945 --> 00:21:33,606 Just, you don't want. This is the kind of thing that I found 318 00:21:33,707 --> 00:21:38,269 out too. This is not only sneak up on you, it could take you out 319 00:21:38,269 --> 00:21:43,330 And you won't even know it. Because had I just brushed it 320 00:21:43,451 --> 00:21:46,849 off and said well, you know what all my other levels are, well, 321 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,063 why do I have to worry about this PSA? Then it's not telling 322 00:21:50,103 --> 00:21:52,342 what would happen, you know, because it could have 323 00:21:52,362 --> 00:21:55,163 metastasized inside of my body and they'd not have had another 324 00:21:55,243 --> 00:22:03,650 issue. So I'm more deadly. So I'm just glad that I listened 325 00:22:03,690 --> 00:22:06,807 and paid attention and did my follow-up and did my due 326 00:22:06,826 --> 00:22:09,102 diligence. You got to do your due diligence. You got to read 327 00:22:09,423 --> 00:22:13,842 and ask questions, be informed. I ask a ton of questions, good 328 00:22:13,862 --> 00:22:20,121 good, and I have the opportunity to send emails to my doctor and 329 00:22:20,121 --> 00:22:23,541 ask questions. Anything I have or didn't understand, they 330 00:22:23,602 --> 00:22:26,766 responded right away. Now, obviously after the procedure. 331 00:22:28,242 --> 00:22:31,282 Then his physician assistant took over because he did the 332 00:22:31,364 --> 00:22:36,443 major part, and so she's the one I've been in contact with And I 333 00:22:36,443 --> 00:22:39,744 see her now every three months. So I was seeing them on a 334 00:22:39,785 --> 00:22:44,183 regular every month or four, two years. Now it's just seeing her 335 00:22:44,183 --> 00:22:47,201 every third month and they check my PSA. Last time they 336 00:22:47,241 --> 00:22:53,082 checked it was unrecognizable, so that was good. So now I'll 337 00:22:53,102 --> 00:22:54,826 come back in three more months and we'll see. 338 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,890 Speaker 1: So the likelihood of it recurring is low. 339 00:23:04,763 --> 00:23:06,990 Speaker 2: Well, they say it and tell me if I'm wrong, dr 340 00:23:07,009 --> 00:23:14,161 Chaitao, he said it's about 85% to 90%. It all depends. They 341 00:23:14,181 --> 00:23:18,065 couldn't give me a finite number , but because they caught it in 342 00:23:18,105 --> 00:23:21,306 me as early as they did and because I'm relatively healthy, 343 00:23:22,281 --> 00:23:25,449 they said I stand a chance possibly not getting it again. 344 00:23:27,362 --> 00:23:29,683 Speaker 3: I would sort of agree with that. I mean, you never 345 00:23:29,703 --> 00:23:33,101 say never And that's why you do checkups and that's it. But I 346 00:23:33,121 --> 00:23:34,506 would think it would be very small. 347 00:23:35,079 --> 00:23:38,342 Speaker 2: Right, that's what they related to me, but hey, i'm 348 00:23:38,342 --> 00:23:42,183 still going to go and have them get to take that blood test, 349 00:23:42,203 --> 00:23:47,423 because you just never know. Yeah, and I want to know anyway, 350 00:23:47,423 --> 00:23:53,645 exactly, and I can tell you guys this too The month before 351 00:23:54,067 --> 00:23:56,463 excuse me, not the month the week before I actually had the 352 00:23:56,503 --> 00:23:59,106 procedure they did a I don't know if you're familiar with 353 00:23:59,126 --> 00:24:03,280 this, dr Chaitao they did a nuclear on me. So, in other 354 00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:07,642 words, they shot me with a nuclear medicine And they did a 355 00:24:07,682 --> 00:24:10,644 complete scan from the top of my head to the bottom of my foot. 356 00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:15,041 That could tell me everything that was going on in my body And 357 00:24:15,041 --> 00:24:17,741 the two things that they found. In other words, they're able to 358 00:24:17,741 --> 00:24:22,827 tell me what my future may look like. So in the future I got to 359 00:24:22,827 --> 00:24:25,103 continue to walk straight, because if I don't, i may 360 00:24:25,143 --> 00:24:29,528 develop a curve in my back And I may develop some arthritis in 361 00:24:29,548 --> 00:24:33,144 my knees. that may happen, but other than that, everything else 362 00:24:33,144 --> 00:24:37,583 is relatively OK. And then one more thing too. They actually 363 00:24:37,682 --> 00:24:43,413 did do this as well. They did a family check, a historical check 364 00:24:43,413 --> 00:24:46,884 , when they check my blood, just to see if it's something that 365 00:24:46,904 --> 00:24:51,017 is hereditary. And they didn't found it as being hereditary for 366 00:24:51,017 --> 00:24:54,968 my family, at least back then. So I mean that was two years ago 367 00:24:54,968 --> 00:24:56,492 , i don't know. 368 00:24:57,234 --> 00:24:58,839 Speaker 3: Well, it's interesting you bring that up, 369 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,609 because one of the things that's happening in healthcare and 370 00:25:01,650 --> 00:25:05,186 we've even talked about it on some of our podcasts is how 371 00:25:05,769 --> 00:25:10,240 artificial intelligence is becoming more and more and more 372 00:25:10,701 --> 00:25:14,348 involved with healthcare, where the machines are smarter because 373 00:25:14,348 --> 00:25:23,366 algorithms based on data that's a larger pool. So as time goes 374 00:25:23,547 --> 00:25:28,498 on, we will get more predictive analytics type of information 375 00:25:28,538 --> 00:25:29,220 about our health. 376 00:25:31,068 --> 00:25:31,790 Speaker 2: That's correct. 377 00:25:32,291 --> 00:25:36,061 Speaker 3: Well, listen, James, we cannot thank you enough for 378 00:25:36,122 --> 00:25:39,332 taking time out of your business schedule to come and share this 379 00:25:39,332 --> 00:25:43,986 with us. We will certainly do the things that need to be done 380 00:25:44,046 --> 00:25:49,576 so that we can get this out. And you're young, I've known you 381 00:25:49,615 --> 00:25:53,791 for years and I remember when you used to come to my medical 382 00:25:53,912 --> 00:25:58,925 office and whatever and do your research of pharmaceuticals, and 383 00:25:58,925 --> 00:26:02,777 I'm happy to see that you're still healthy, wealthy and wise. 384 00:26:02,777 --> 00:26:02,777 385 00:26:03,097 --> 00:26:06,486 Speaker 2: Yes, very, very much so. Well, I'm still working on 386 00:26:06,506 --> 00:26:07,268 the wise part. 387 00:26:09,371 --> 00:26:12,757 Speaker 3: That's okay, we all are. But, yes, i'm very, very 388 00:26:12,797 --> 00:26:16,814 happy to have a great day You too. You take care, guys. 389 00:26:16,934 --> 00:26:19,202 Speaker 1: All right, you too, thanks for listening to the 390 00:26:19,324 --> 00:26:22,232 Healthy, wealthy and Wise podcast with Dr William Choctaw, 391 00:26:22,232 --> 00:26:26,506 mdjd. We hope you enjoyed this episode and, if you found it 392 00:26:26,566 --> 00:26:29,953 helpful, you can support and subscribe to the podcast on your 393 00:26:29,953 --> 00:26:34,532 favorite podcast platform with the keywords Dr William Choctaw. 394 00:26:34,532 --> 00:26:38,565 Click on the support the show and you've got it. This will 395 00:26:38,565 --> 00:26:42,766 also help ensure that you don't miss any future episodes, and 396 00:26:42,865 --> 00:26:46,490 then share this podcast with your family, friends and or your 397 00:26:46,490 --> 00:26:50,661 coworkers. They'll be glad you did So. until the next time, 398 00:26:50,681 --> 00:26:54,169 live your best possible life the best possible way.