Listen to your body

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Your body is an amazing instrument that can give you hints as to what may be happening inside of you. My father, Gregg Huggins, is, sadly, a classic example of this. He was a very private man, and as I write this piece, I will do my best to protect and respect that privacy while still driving home the need for you, my reader, to get your regular checkups and trust your instincts. Dad was 63 years old and had never missed a day of work. Ever. Sure, he may go in late or leave early if I or one of my girls had a doctor’s appointment of our own or a game, but he never called out sick. That was until April 2015. He had been having symptoms of prostate cancer long before that time, but he had managed to make it to work daily still. As a family, we had taken a trip that previous December, and dad had stayed in the room most of the trip. That was a realization I wouldn’t come to until much later. My father was extremely good at hiding most of his symptoms from everyone. I assume mainly fear is what kept him from seeing a doctor. That April, he became so ill that he wasn’t getting off the couch. He had missed several days of work, and I, along with the rest of the family, became very concerned. He had lost a good amount of weight at this point. If you or someone you care for beings to lose weight without trying, chancers are something is not OK. Sudden weight loss with no solid reason is a red flag. Though it took some begging and patience, we finally were able to get my dad to Urgent Care in Manning. Dr. Ken Johnson did the initial tests, and before they could even begin to run Xrays and scans, the doctors and nurses had to stabilize dad. That was a feat in and of itself. Before April 14, 2015, my father had not been to see a doctor in more than 30 years. They managed to finally get his heart rate and blood pressure down enough to run some tests. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer, which had spread to his spine. It should have never gotten to that point. Prostate cancer is one of the most treatable and curable cancers there is, but that is with an early diagnosis. Dad passed away Oct. 14, 2015, exactly six months after that first visit to Urgent Care and Dr. Johnson. The outcome may have been drastically different had my father been receiving yearly checkups or had he gone when he began to have symptoms years earlier. Do not let fear control your life. Listen to your body. Pay attention to any changes in your body. Early detection can save your life.