‘I am very lucky’: Windsor mayor shares prostate cancer diagnosis to raise awareness

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens is speaking out about his prostate cancer diagnosis, in hopes of raising awareness. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco reports.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has come forward, sharing his prostate cancer diagnosis, in hopes of raising awareness.

Three years ago, Dilkens visited the family doctor for his annual physical. With a history of prostate cancer in the family, the doctor suggested getting a baseline number.

“If you have no cancer, it should be zero, and so the fact that it even showed something raised some eyebrows and said, okay, well, let’s monitor this,” said Dilkens, who is 53 years old.

Six months later, the number rose slightly at which point Dilkens was referred to a urologist, who continued testing Prostate Specific Antigen levels (PSAs), twice a year.

“I’ll tell you some of the tests. The number went up. Sometimes it went down and so it wasn’t obvious out of the gate that there was anything absolutely wrong,” Dilkens told CTV News.

Fast forward to earlier this year, the number had gone up again, prompting an MRI, which showed a growth in the mayor’s prostate. Of 12 samples taken during a biopsy, seven showed signs of intermediate stage cancer.

That is when the reality of the situation began to sink in for the mayor.

“There was a point in the conversation where you just start not hearing what he’s saying. He’s speaking. I know he’s speaking, but I’m not capturing anything that he’s putting out,” Dilkens explained.

According to Dr. Raj Goel, a urologist, prostate cancer is very often asymptomatic, showing no symptoms.

“A lot of it is picked up with PSA testing. Physical exams can sometimes detect disease, but not in its infancy, so the PSA screening, prostate specific antigen screening, which is a simple blood test, just allows us to help pick up the disease a lot sooner,” said Goel.

Dilkens was left with three options. Leave it unattended, get radiation, or surgery to remove the growth.

For privacy’s sake, Dilkens has chosen to have surgery to remove the growth in London later this week. He hopes his story will serve as a reminder to men in our community about the importance of getting tested.

“I consider myself one of the lucky ones that I’ve been diagnosed early,” Dilkens said.

“Thank God my family doctor checked the box to get a baseline PSA number. Had I not had that number, honestly, there are no signs and symptoms. I don’t feel any different today than I did four years ago, or three years ago before I had this test. I would have no idea and that’s why prostate cancer is called the silent killer.”

The mayor’s wife admitted walking into the cancer centre with her husband was scary and said she is thankful they detected it early.

“We have a great prognosis. We’re doing the best thing we can do. Get it out and continue on. We’re very blessed,” said Jane Deneau.

Dr. Goel said prostate surgeries have changed throughout the years, allowing modern technology to be less invasive and patients to recover faster. Dilkens is expected to be in hospital for two days.

“And functionally, a better outcome compared to what we used to deal with in the past,” Goel explained.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and Dr. Goel believes with an aging population and growing immigration, detection rates could increase in our region.

“We expect to see probably more of this problem surfacing.” Goel said.

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among Canadian men, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, with one in eight expected to face the disease in their lifetime. Dr. Goel expects a positive outcome for the mayor and stresses the importance of getting tested, even when there are no symptoms.

“It’s not like eating too much red meat causes prostate cancer. It’s not like playing hockey will avoid prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it’s a disease that can inflict the healthiest or unhealthiest of men,” Dr. Goel explained.

Following surgery, Dilkens will be at home resting for a couple of weeks. He will need to monitor for recurrence with tests every three or four months, following surgery in the first year. Those tests will be more spaced out in the subsequent years.

Councillor Joanne Gignac will take over mayoral duties for Dilkens while he is in hospital.

“Then I’ll be home on my computer, on my phone, just recovering. My expectation is I’m going to get back to events and out in the public and back to my job at City Hall as soon as I’m able,” Dilkens stressed.

“I don’t do well sitting at home.”