Howarth lends voice to cancer awareness
Jays broadcaster advocates for annual PSA test
DU N E DI N • About two weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumour attached to his prostate gland, longtime Blue Jays broadcaster Jerry Howarth began an exercise routine that included a daily walk around Cloverdale Mall in Etobicoke.
“I did that 35 minutes a day, pretty much seven days a week for over two months,” said Howarth outside the clubhouse at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium this week. “I saw a lot of friends of mine, people were looking at me saying, ‘Jerry, how you feeling? You better?’”
The word had got out in November that Howarth, who has been doing the Jays broadcasts for 35 years, had cancer and needed surgery. Howarth said he’s been overwhelmed by the reaction from listeners, players and friends in baseball. And he turned his illness into something positive, something he could do to help others.
“My surgeon, Dr. Robert Nam (head of genitourinary oncology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre) asked me a week before my Nov. 22 surgery, ‘Jerry, we’re trying to heighten awareness regarding the value of an MRI, which detected your tumour and the cancerous prostate gland and would you join me in a CTV News interview to highlight that?’ And I said, ‘ Rob, I’d be happy to.’”
“Initially I wanted to be quiet about ( my cancer). But to help Rob and Sunnybrook Hospital and men in general regarding their PSA numbers, it was the best thing I could do,” he said.
Howarth’s message is pretty simple. Have a physical every year and get a PSA test, a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. Howarth said his PSA showed an elevated number and he and Dr. Nam followed the PSA with an MRI.
“Read your numbers,” said Howard. “If they’re zero, one or two, you’re in pretty good shape and you’re seven out of eight men. But if you’re that eighth man and your numbers start to creep beyond two, and get to 3,4,6 like mine did, and then eight and almost 10, now you have a situation that really you should address. Your antenna should go up.
“And what Rob was pointing out is that the MRI now has really taken over regarding a sophisticated look at the problems in discovering a tumour, as opposed to the biopsy which I had three years before and it showed no cancer. So that’s where it was good for me to bring awareness to other men. Take care of yourself. And for all you young men, ask your dad and your grandfathers, ‘ Dad, what’s your PSA number?’ And once it starts to creep up there, then at least you’re on the board to address it.”
Howarth said his doctor suggested an MRI after his PSA number hit 9.5.
“He said, ‘Jerry I want to do an MRI. Your biopsy didn’t show any cancer but I’m suspicious that there’s something here that we’re not seeing.’ And then later with Pauline Chan of CTV News, he’s pointing out to everybody, ‘ I believe in the MRI, it’s so sophisticated.’ It found my problem.”
Howarth said his cancer was caught at the Stage 1 level and after the 1 1/2 hour operation, the margins were clean.
“A week ago I saw Dr. Nam at Sunnybrook Hospital and he said, ‘Jerry, you’re completely cancer free, we got 100 per cent of it out.’ And that was only because of early detection,” said Howarth.
He is even more gratified that people saw the interview with CTV News and to get Dr. Nam’s message.
“I just finished three months since my surgery, feeling good, strong. And when I walked into the clubhouse here, I saw 37 players, a manager and three or four coaches, and they all came up, gave me a hug saying, ‘ How ya doing Jerry? How you feeling?’ It’s on their mind too, they’re thinking I might be Jerry someday and I want to make sure that I remember to check out what Jerry did because here he is. He’s clean, he looks good, he’s healthy.
“I received calls from Alex Anthopoulos out in Los Angeles, Paul Beeston in Toronto, Andy Burns, who was with the Blue Jays. He’s now in Korea, Tim Leiper ... It’s been overwhelming.”
Howarth is already behind the mic at spring training, once again greeting his listeners with the familiar: “Hello, friends! This is Jerry Howarth, along with Joe Siddall and Mike Wilner ...” And his fans couldn’t be happier.
JERRY, YOU’RE COMPLETELY CANCER FREE, WE GOT 100 PER CENT OF IT OUT.