Two and a half years ago, I held my father’s hand as I watched him leave this life at the young age of 60. My father, Bill Hoover, was a rather healthy, active man. He walked, played golf and was always on the go. He also took good care of himself by scheduling annual physicals and having check-ups, primarily for cancer since he lost his mother to colon cancer when he was a young child.
Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, and as a family, we did all we could to fight the disease. Despite our best efforts, his was extremely aggressive and he succumbed to cancer almost four years after his diagnosis. Losing Dad to this disease has changed all of our lives and we have done all that we can to keep his memory alive. He was a teacher in the Shikellamy School District, and we’ve given numerous scholarships in his name. We hold a charity event every year in his honor, and most importantly, we advocate for the early detection and prevention of this disease.
September is national Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and as an employee of the American Cancer Society, I would like to remind all dads, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, sons and husbands to be tested for this disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, men age 50 and older should discuss the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of prostate cancer testing with their health care providers and decide whether testing is right for them. Men at high risk, such as African - Americans or men who have a history of prostate cancer in close family members, should have this discussion at age 45. Men with several family members affected at a young age should have this discussion at age 40. Women, make sure the men in your family know the facts about this disease and talk with their doctors about their own personal risk. Call the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org to learn more about how you and your loved ones can stay well by reducing their risk of the disease.
If you are moved to action from my story, then I feel my effort has been worthwhile and my father’s name will continue to be honored and remembered.
Angela Hoover-Brouse,
Lewisburg
Letters
Get tested
- Letters
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Unconcerned lawmaker
Republican Representative Kurt Masser's leadership and support of Governor Tom Corbett's agenda have proven to be nothing short of a disaster for everyone from senior citizens to the children statewide and locally.
- Accountability
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Comic relief
Yet again, the Northumberland County commissioners have supplied -- unintentionally I can only hope -- comic relief in these troubled times for our county.
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Belonging here
This morning, as I was leaving the Sunbury Islamic Center with a group of moms and kids from our Sunday school, someone drove by and screamed out their car window to us: "Go back to where you belong."
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Transportation taxes
On May 22, the state House voted on HB 1100. The Democrat-sponsored bill exempted the sale of airplanes, airplane parts and airplane repairs from the 6 percent state sales tax.
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Stepping up for river
I represent a group of 22 retired state Department of Environmental Protection professionals who have more than 600 years of combined service in managing all aspects of the commonwealth's water quality and pollution control programs.
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Catalyst for study
The Susquehanna River, in many ways, unifies our region. Yet this vital ecological and economic engine, and the source of drinking water for millions, has been increasingly showing signs of distress.
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Access to closed school
As a member of the New Berlin Borough Council, I am interested in maintaining access to the New Berlin Elementary School property for the citizens of the New Berlin community.
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Critical period
More than two years ago, Sunbury native Ashley Spotts received a life-saving lung transplant due to cystic fibrosis (CF) and diabetes. Pennsylvania Cystic Fibrosis, Inc. (PACFI) established the Ashley's Angels Transplant Fund to help the family with medical expenses, and area individuals and families responded by donating to the fund and/or having fundraisers.
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Tough to stop a train
To add a bit of perspective to the recent accident in Milton, as well as subsequent reporting and editorial comments, let's keep in mind that a train cannot overcome the immutable laws of physics.
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Unconcerned lawmaker
