In 2019, Jim Sage discovered something was wrong with his prostate during an annual exam.
His doctor ran some blood tests and found his prostate-specific antigen was high, an indicator of inflammation or even cancer.
“My doctor found that my PSA was high and so he wanted to repeat that test and then it was even a little higher,” Sage said.
He was referred to a urologist who was supposed to do a biopsy on his prostate.
“I was scheduled to have a biopsy with that doctor,” he said. “However, when I went to get it, he was stopped by a large tumor in my bladder.”
Jim discovered he had cancer in his bladder and his prostate. The news devastated him.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men in the U.S. are expected to live six years less than women. And men that are part of minority and LGBTQIA+ populations face more significant disparities and higher cancer risk, according to the American Cancer Society.
The doctor wanted to take out of his bladder and prostate immediately. “I would have ended up with you know, a little bag on my body,” he said. “I just… it was too much of a thought.”
The experience disenchanted Sage, who read about negative experiences gay men face in health care.
“I heard about the medical profession, not having a specific understanding in our community, and what it's like to go through those kinds of changes in your body and in your life,” he said.
He decided to get two other opinions, which were, unfortunately, identical.
Distraught, he decided to move forward with the oncologist at City of Hope.
Sage said the doctor at City of Hope was much more personable, human and kinder than others. His doctor even joked about the anti-hormone treatment he’d have to undergo to slow the prostate cancer.
“He told me that I could be on the street and the most beautiful woman could be walking one way and a giraffe the other way and I would follow the giraffe. And I said, Yeah, I would, but not for the reason that you think,” he said. “So immediately, he said, let me amend that the most beautiful man could go walking down the street, and you're going to follow the giraffe. He set me at ease as a human being that I knew at that moment that I wanted him to be my doctor.”
Sage had his bladder cancer treated with chemotherapy, effectively stopping it. The treatment saved him from the indignity of bladder removal. He also had successful surgery on his prostate.
Since then, he has been visiting City of Hope to check in.
“My PSA is non-detectable and so far, and my bladder cancer has not come back,” he said. “I feel that that’s an amazing place, the City of Hope and I would encourage anybody who needed to find treatment to at least check it out.”
Sage, who spoke to the Daily Independent in June, said he is on a mission to ensure men care for their health. June is Pride Month and Men’s Health Month. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a two-time cancer survivor, Jim said he was fortunate, but everyone should be vigilant.
“I belong to these two great support groups for gay, bi and trans men on Facebook,” he said. “And there are a lot of guys in their early 50s and late 40s and it's happened to them. Just be a little vigilant.”
