Laughter and Tears Over Mike Rowe’s PSA

It’s one of the ways we change when someone we love fights prostate cancer. It’s a driving urgency to tell every man to get tested. For those of us who lost someone to this insidious disease, it’s a message that echoes in the empty chambers of your heart from the time you wake up in the morning to the minute you go to bed – if I can get one man tested for prostate cancer, maybe, just maybe it will save a life and have this heart of mine feel just a little fuller for a moment.

With a world filled with many worthy causes and the days filled with noise of all that tries to grab our attention, the message that early detection saves lives can seem like it falls on deaf ears. To our champions and their families, it sometimes can be frustrating.

That’s why Mike Rowe’s witty, vulnerable, and VERY REAL PSA about prostate cancer early detection is vindication and validation for families that have been blown apart by prostate cancer and his message now amplifies their passionate voices.

Here’s just one of them: “One of the things I promised my dad before he died was to spread the word… get checked yearly. It might save your life. Thanks for the video Mike. I hope men listen to you.”

Here’s another: “I’m alive today because I got checked. Thank you, Mike. This is just the message that guys like me need to hear more of.” 

Mike, host of Dirty Jobs and narrator of Deadliest Catch, is one of the most genuine personalities on TV these days. He went in front of the camera after learning his best friend from high school, Jeff, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Mike’s message and on camera physical exam may have just saved countless lives. Lives of men we’ve all been trying to reach.

If Mike’s video isn’t enough, here are three things to remember when it comes to prostate cancer:

1. All men have prostates so we’re all at risk. In fact, the older we get, the greater the risk. Men with a family history, African Americans, and veterans have at least double the risk.
2. 99 percent survive prostate cancer when it’s caught early.
3. Symptoms are seldom present when prostate cancer starts; learn more here.