He has one of the most recognizable names in New England.
Now, Josh Kraft is hoping that sharing his story will help others recognize the importance of taking their health seriously, because if it saved his life, it could save yours.
“You know, at first I said, whoa, OK,” Kraft said.
The news that took him aback came from his doctor in 2018 - he had prostate cancer. Luckily, it hadn’t spread, because doctors caught it early.
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“They all said 90% of people at your age, your health, and with the amount of cancer and you do a removal, a 10% to radiation. So, I was sort of an easy decision from there.”
He was 51; young compared to those typically diagnosed.
He had surgery to remove his prostate and he was able to get back to work running the Patriots’ Foundation within weeks.
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But, another setback - the levels of his PSA raised. That’s the prostate antigen in the blood used to gauge the presence of cancer. He went on hormone and radiation therapy for more than six months.
It worked.
“And really, to put it plain and simple,” Kraft said. “As most cancers, even if you catch them early, it's tough. This if you catch it early, you go through a little uncomfortable, but if you catch it early, it goes away.”
Kraft said he’s here and cancer-free thanks to regular monitoring of his PSA level, something he started doing after his father, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, was diagnosed.
“Any kind of health thing that you have ignored, you're going to be scared. I know there's stuff I've ignored. So, I'm like, oh, I got to deal with that, get nervous, but just go to your doctor, your primary care person, and ask to get a blood test to have your PSA tested. And if a drug and a digital exam and the blood test is quick, the digital is quick and you'll know pretty quick,” Kraft said.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men behind skin cancer. And cases are growing.
“When you don't screen you then wind up finding cancer at a more advanced stage. The US Preventive Services Task Force actually changed its recommendations and made it sort of a recommendation where you at least discuss the screening at particular ages. And that has allowed us to identify some more cancers at an earlier stage,” said Kraft’s doctor at Dana-Farber, Dr. Atish Choudhury. “The vast majority of the time when prostate cancers are caught with routine screening, they are caught in an early and curable stage. There are a minority of cases that even when caught by screening can develop into a more advanced cancer despite our best intentions, but that is a minority,” said Dr. Choudhury.
Kraft told his doctors he’s be willing to talk with other men going through a similar diagnosis.
And since then, he has spoken to several patients… and there could be plenty more.
Doctors recommend men talk to their doctor about getting a PSA test around age 50. Black men and those with a family history, like Kraft, should start testing earlier.
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