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Art Felker
and Robert Novack are two of the founders of the Midwest
Prostate Cancer Detection Foundation Inc.
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As a former football player, Gene
Felker knew what it was like to get hit.
When he learned in 1997 that he had
prostate cancer, Felker felt like he’d been leveled. Surgery, months
of hormone injections, and 40 radiation treatments followed. Worse
yet, he blamed himself. "The stupid part of it was I had missed
three years of exams," he explains. "I had been doing it
religiously. With early detection, I wouldn’t have had to go through
hell."
Felker has spent the last seven years
helping men in his adopted home state of Arizona get screened, an
effort that will expand to Wisconsin this year. His brother, Art, and
Robert Novack, both of whom live in Menomonee Falls, have helped to
form the Midwest Prostate Cancer Detection Foundation Inc.
The group will follow Gene Felker’s
game plan, working with employers to provide screenings at work sites
in the "POP mobile." POP stands for Prostate On-Site
Project, emphasizing the convenience of testing. At the POP mobile,
men are given a blood test to determine their prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) level. A digital rectal exam (DRE) checks for bumps or
hard places on the prostate gland. Abnormal results are reported to
the patient and his primary care doctor for followup.
Screenings take just 15 minutes and
cost $50 — about one-third of what a clinic charges, according to
Novack. While insurance may cover a patient’s cost, additional
support comes from companies that bring the POP mobile to their work
places and from other sponsors.
"Men are not like women when it
comes to health care," says Art Felker. "Guys just kind of
slough it off. If the wife keeps on him, maybe he’ll get a PSA and a
DRE."
Art and Gene Felker grew up on
Milwaukee’s north side, playing sports at North Division High
School. Art, who is a year older, went on to play football at
Marquette, and Gene played for University of Wisconsin — in fact,
they played against one another. Each had brief careers in the pros.
Gene held a number of major-college coaching jobs, promoted sports
camps and produced instructional films; Art worked in the insurance
business.
With awareness and fundraising efforts
key to the success of the POP mobile, a quiet retirement is not in the
plans for either brother.
In 2000, Gene, 79, launched the All
Sports Foundation in Mesa, Ariz., to help fund prostate screenings in
doctors’ offices. The foundation bought a former New York City
portable classroom and retrofitted it with sinks, blood-draw stations
and private exam rooms. He estimates that his organization has
provided more than 4,000 screenings across Arizona. A fifth-wheel
travel trailer has become Gene’s new POP mobile, making the other
vehicle available to launch the Midwest screenings.
Art serves as secretary of the Midwest
Prostate Cancer Detection Foundation, and Novack is the president.
Also involved are physician Robert Kessler as vice president of
medical services and treasurer, and former Brewers pitcher Ken Sanders
as vice president of public relations.
Froedtert Hospital and the Medical
College of Wisconsin are providing advisory and promotional
assistance. "Novack and Kessler are in their early 60s,"
notes Art. "I just hope healthwise I’ll be involved in making
contacts and presentations, and providing any help I can at the
on-site screenings."
According to the American Cancer
Society, prostate cancer is found in one of six men, primarily in
those 50 and older. The five-year survival rate is 99 percent.
Untreated, however, prostate cancer can spread to the bladder, liver
and spine. Nearly 30,000 men die each year making it the second
most-fatal form of cancer for males.
All involved in the push for screenings
emphasize the importance of annual testing. Given that, the POP mobile
here will be carefully scheduled so that it can pay return visits
roughly every 12 months. "Employers now have wellness
programs," notes Gene. "They’re wising up. An employee
costs a lot more if their problem isn’t detected early."
Besides workplaces, the POP mobile
might turn up at sports events, summer festivals or the State Fair,
according to Novack. It is cost effective only if at least 40 men can
be screened at a visit.
For more information, contact Bob
Novack at (414) 801-3796 or (262) 255-6524; e-mail: midwestprostate@gmail.com
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