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Saturday, August 19, 2006 Belen mayor keeps sense of humor despite cancer diagnosisBelen At age 46, Ronnie Torres felt great. He was on his feet every day at the hair salon he owns, living an active life as mayor of Belen. But, you never know, so he went to his doctor for a routine physical exam. So what do you do when a doctor delivers unexpected bad news? Torres is facing just that situation.
"It's like ... you think that it's not true," Torres said. "You're terrified and your mind is just gone. You don't think of anything." The test that was conducted on Torres, at the time of his diagnosis, is called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) that measures the amount of PSA in your blood. "It's just a simple blood test," Torres said. Following his diagnosis, Torres was sent to a specialist in Albuquerque and was put on antibiotics. When checked, the doctor said the mayor was fine. However, another PSA test showed that the levels in his blood were now higher. "They did a biopsy on me then and found that seven of the 12 pieces they took from my prostate had cancer cells," Torres said. "The good thing about it is the prostate itself was not enlarged, but having that many for its size isn't good." The American Cancer Society provides detailed information regarding the different types of cancer on its Web site and it says that 99 percent of prostate cancer develops from glandular cells. With prostate cancer as the most common cancer found in American men, second to skin cancer, studies indicate that, in 2006, more than 200,000 new patients will be diagnosed. Approximately 91 percent of prostate cancer found will be in the local stage, which means it is contained to the prostate, or in the regional stage, which means that the cancer has spread to areas near the prostate. "There are different treatment options you can do but I chose for the more radical treatment," Torres said. "I want to make sure there's nothing there." Torres will have surgery to remove his prostate near the end of September and will be in the hospital for about two days and off work for about two weeks. "I just thank God I have the employees I have, both at the shop and the city, because they know how to take care of things," he said. "And that's the way it should be." Torres owns Hair Innovations, a salon in Belen. Although Torres did not expect to hear he had prostate cancer, he has family members who have battled cancer. His father had colon cancer, but, thankfully, has been cancer-free for 17 years. His grandfather died from prostate cancer and his grandmother had breast cancer. "I always knew it was a matter of what kind of cancer I would get," Torres said. "Not if, but which one." The American Cancer Society says there are risk factors associated with prostate cancer including age, diet, family history, race, nationality and exercise. Although risk factors can increase a person's chance of getting cancer, it doesn't mean that having them guarantees that you will develop it. Prostate cancer, while it can be a fast-growing cancer, is typically slow-growing. The society's findings state that while risk factors can contribute to seeing prostate cancer in younger patients, they basically suggest physicians should offer the test yearly to men when they reach age 50. However, if there is a history of cancer, they should start testing at the age of 40 or 45, depending on how many risk factors the patient has, such as relatives who've also developed prostate cancer at an early age. "It's pretty abnormal for someone my age to have it, although there are some who have," Torres said. "But when you see so many children who are 7 or 8 years old who have cancer, it just breaks your heart. They're so young. It just gives you a different attitude for your life." While Torres has had time to digest his diagnosis, he said members of his family have handled the news in different ways. "My wife is strong and she's doing good," Torres said. "Men are so funny. Because, as tough as they're supposed to be, they're the biggest chickens." Torres' three children each handled the news of their father's illness in their own way and Torres said it was a little weird to see such different methods of dealing with it. He said his parents sort of "freaked out a little." "The most important thing is to live," Torres said. "You have to have a pity party for yourself and then say 'shame on you.' There are people sicker than me and it's, like, .... get over it and deal with it and keep on going because you are not the only one who has it." Torres said it is important to be able to laugh about it and that, if you can, then you're OK. "Just laugh and deal with it and pray," he said. "That's what you've got to do." According to the American Cancer Society, while early detection for prostate cancer has been common since the 1990s, it still hasn't been determined if the decrease in the death rate for this type of cancer is related to early screening. "When you go to the doctor and they check, check, check, some people get mad because they do," Torres said. "But it's for your own good, especially if there's something they can do to help you. Just the word cancer scares the tar out of people but they've come so far with some of their treatments. Hopefully, somebody will take the test." For now, Torres is feeling great and is very optimistic about his forthcoming treatment. "There's so much I have to do," Torres said. "I don't have time for this. I have a city to run, a business to run and a family to raise. Attitude is everything in the world." While no two people are alike, the American Cancer Society recommends anyone who is diagnosed with prostate cancer should determine, with their doctor, their best individual course of action. For more information on prostate cancer, its symptoms, effects and treatment, visit http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp?level=0 or contact your physician directly.
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