Karl Pete, M.D., knows the moment. He has seen the faces of the men sitting across from his desk.
“You got up this morning, life was good,” Dr. Pete says, “… but I’m afraid I have to tell you that you do indeed have prostate cancer.”
The diagnosis of prostate cancer can be traumatic for any man.
“They are usually in shock,” says Pete, head of Cape Fear Valley Health’s Urology Department. “Like a deer in the headlights.”
Joel Tappin, Jr., remembers the moment on Nov. 5, 2020, when Dr. Pete confirmed a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
“I wasn’t scared,” says Tappin, who is 59. “My first thought was, ‘We can beat this.’”
Zulema Tappin sat with her husband.
“I was scared,” she says. “He might say he wasn’t scared, but I was petrified. My thought was to think the worst and hope for the best.”
More than 190,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute, with more than 33,000 deaths.
Pete diagnoses about 15 men a month in Fayetteville. The good news, he says, is that diagnosis is not a death sentence.
Annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings and digital rectal exams should be a priority for white men 50 and over, and for African American men starting at age 40 or younger.
“Screenings are very important in patients with a family history of prostate cancer,” Pete says. “In prostate cancer, early identification is quite important. We can cut down significantly on the death rates.”
The jury is out about why African Americans may be more susceptible to prostate cancer.
“We’re not sure,” Pete says.
Even with a PSA screening, digital rectal exams are advised, and the two should be done in combination. Primary care physicians, Pete says, should always perform a digital rectal exam along with PSA bloodwork.
“The absolute indication for a prostate biopsy is an abnormal prostate exam. A man can have a normal PSA and still have prostate cancer,” Pete says.
Dr. Pete ‘a blessing’
Tappin had regular PSA screenings, his wife says, but digital rectal exams were painful. Zulema Tappin was suspicious. When he lost 40 pounds within a year, she insisted that he see his primary care physician.
“The results of the PSA were high,” Zulema Tappin says. “That made us go to Dr. Pete. It was a blessing from there on.”
After rechecking his PSA, which remained high, Pete did a biopsy.
“He didn’t have a lot of disease based on biopsy, and we discussed active surveillance, but he opted to have his prostate removed,” Pete says. “It was a good choice. He had low-grade disease, but his cancer was just inside the capsule of the prostate gland. When the cancer escapes the prostate, it can metastasize.”
Joel Tappin has no second thoughts about his decision to remove his prostate gland.
‘We are so grateful’
Today, after recuperating at his home in Palm Coast, Fla., Joel Tappin, Jr., is back at work at Smithfield Foods in Bladen County.
He is grateful, particularly to his wife, who was with him every step of the way.
“It changes your life,” Zulema says. “I wanted him to be here. It makes you see life through different eyes.”
And her praise for Dr. Pete knows no boundaries.
“Dr. Pete explained everything,” she says. “If he had to explain something five times, he explained it five times. Dr. Pete is so patient. He gave us the confidence to make the decision, and we are so grateful.”
Her words are not lost on Pete, who will tell you that for a person diagnosed with prostate cancer, a spouse or significant other is important when it comes to treatment or surgical decisions.
“It affects the two of you,” he says. “It affects the man and his spouse. It affects both.”
And both the Tappins are grateful that Zulema insisted Joel get checked out.
“A lot of men don’t get checked,” Zulema Tappin says. “I would say do it. You never know. Life is short, and I would not know life without him.”