Prostate Cancer Won’t Stop This Boulder 70.3 Athlete

by Peter Crescenti
YOU – HAVE – CANCER. Three words all of us hope never to hear. There is one thing that is certain, Prostate Cancer is a disease that does not discriminate!
I served as a Naval Officer and transitioned to civilian life after a 25 year career. I was 44, felt young and fit and consistent with getting regular checkups. I did all the right things to minimize health risk factors.
Following a routine physical at age 45, I was diagnosed with high Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood levels. I remember my physician calling me on my cell phone, telling me that I needed to be referred to a Urologist due to high PSA. As I hung up the phone, I thought that was odd…why would my doctor be calling me personally? My next thoughts were, what the heck is PSA?
For the next 18 months, I had many PSA tests and watched my levels continue to climb…. I endured two dreaded biopsies and diagnosed with prostate cancer just three weeks after my 47th birthday. It was a sobering conversation with my physician having to go in and discuss the test results. Like many, the shock of having cancer hit me pretty hard. I shut down for a month; I didn’t know what to do. I spent years making tough decisions, but this was a very different scenario.
I remember having a conversation with my wife, Mary, just after I found out pondering “why me?” At some point, she replied “why not?” Spending that many years in the military, I knew many men, with varying ages. There is one thing I learned very quickly, men develop this disease receive some level of treatment and never talk about this stuff as if it were just a bad dream or it didn’t happened. Many are embarrassed, as it does call to question ones masculinity.
I chose to embrace my diagnosis as an opportunity to spread awareness that “prostate cancer is not just an old guy’s disease.”
I stayed the course on my IRONMAN 70.3 training and reached out to men that I knew regarding my experience and the journey that lied ahead. I also teamed up with non-profit ZERO – The End Prostate Cancer, in an effort to further spread the word about the importance of being tested and raised the funds for charity under ZERO’s Dash for Dads Program.
I am proud that that I was the first man diagnosed with prostate cancer to cross an IRONMAN finish line for ZERO charity. 10 days following the event I checked into the City of Hope Cancer Hospital and underwent a 5 hour radical prostatectomy surgery and then the tough road to recovery.
Since that first race in Sonoma, CA in 2011, I helped ZERO in their effort to build their IRONMAN Endurance Series. Fast forward to 2016, it’s been an amazing journey and we’ve come a long way! ZERO has had 20 IRONMAN races, with 233 athletes raising more than $470,000 for awareness, research and men’s health programs.
This year, we are the exclusive charity partner for IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder. I am excited about how far we’ve come over the past five years, but there is still work to be done.
We have more than 50 athletes registered for Boulder and I am currently the only registered prostate cancer survivor competing. I’ve competed with other prostate cancer survivors, so it’s our goal to get more survivors involved.
This year will be special, as I celebrate 5 years of being cancer free and raised more than $75K for ZERO since 2011. It is my sincere hope is to become ZERO’s “TOP FUNDRAISER” and move on to a 10 year dream of competing in the KONA IRONMAN World Championships this October.
I have dedicated my race to the men I’ve come to know who represent the many Faces of Prostate Cancer.
“Cancer is a scary thing and I believe that education and awareness will help men better understand this specific type of cancer that affects 1 in 7. I don’t want my three sons to experience the same treatment and struggles I had to endure.
For more information visit: http://www.teampc.org/