Dan Farrington was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer on March 31st, 2024 here in the Salem area ,where he has lived for the past 32 years. He currently works in Business Consulting BBSI. Before that, he owned and operated his own business in the work comp industry. For fun he has coached Varsity Boys Basketball in the area since 1981.
Now at the age 63, he has taken the initiative to monitor his prostate health yearly. To note, he has being monitoring his prostate since he was 44 because of the significant history of prostate cancer in his family. His dad and two of his four older brothers developed prostate cancer and had to have their prostates removed.
Dan is currently under the care of OHSU and has been advised that it is safe to closely monitor his prostate rather than removing it because he has a GLEASON Score of 6. The Gleason Score is a grading system based on a variety of characteristics. Grade 6 is a low, slow growing type of cancer. He is in the Limbo State.
Every quarter year he will have a PSA test and once a year he will get an MRI and a biopsy. If they find an increase in the PSA or concerning results the surgeons should have time to remove the cancer before it spreads. There is always a balance between the quality of life with a patient’s health and safety that must be taken into consideration.
Dan’s paternal grandmother passed away with breast cancer at age 66 and research has found that prostate cancer may be linked with breast cancer. Dan is married with four daughters, two sons and seven grand-daughters that could be affected, so he has elected to undergo gene testing to see if there is a hereditary link – because early detection is the key to survival! Now more that ever, he is eating more vegetables that he didn’t eat before. Know your body!