(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg's announcement of his prostate cancer diagnosis came one year after the death of longtime WXRT disc jockey Lin Brehmer from the same disease.
Sandberg's cancer is metastatic, which means it has spread beyond his prostate. Brehmer's cancer had also spread.
Dr. Gopal Gupta is a prostate cancer specialist with Loyola Medicine.
“Once you’re diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, the average five-year survival [rate] is somewhere less than 50%, and that’s with aggressive therapy,” Gupta said.
If prostate cancer is detected early enough and treated before it spreads to other parts of the body, Gupta said the five-year survival rate is over 90%.
He said most men should be screened for prostate cancer in their mid-50s.
He recommends screening at age 40 for those at higher risk, including men with a family history of prostate cancer and African Americans.
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