Cancer survivor makes gift for friends that could save their lives

Prostate cancer survivor spreads early warning message

It took 36 radiation treatments. Now William is cancer free - but prostate cancer is very much still a concern.

FOX 2 - Meet a man who had bracelets made for his buddies, they come with a message and a condition - he hopes will save lives.

The backstory:

"It's scary - any cancer is scary," said William McShane. "So your reaction is, ‘I wanna run,’ you wish you hadn't done it. 'Why did I do this?'"

Now 81, William McShane is thinking back to his prostate cancer diagnosis more than a decade ago. He felt fine, but a blood test showed a rising PSA level.

"I didn't feel anything - you typically don't feel anything," he said. "I didn't have any symptoms of it."

The PSA test looks at a level of a specific protein in the blood, Williams' concerning level prompted a biopsy which confirmed the cancer.

He believes it was only found because he was committed to a yearly checkup.

"I think guys typically don't do that," he said. "My recommendation to any guy is at least get it done every year - you want to get our PSA tested .. that's the marker."

It took 36 radiation treatments. Now William is cancer free - but prostate cancer is very much still a concern.

"I have a son who lives in Minneapolis he's just diagnosed at 56," McShane said. "He's going to be fine, hopefully another cancer survivor. I've been a survivor for 12 years."

Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men - more than 300,000 cases are expected to be diagnosed this year and more than 35,000 men will die from it this year alone.

The PSA test is critical for early detection. William knows early detection saved his life, so much so, he had these bracelets made to strongly encourage his buddies to take care of their bodies.

"They're just little bracelets," he said. "They have to wear this bracelet until they get their PSA .. I don't care how long it takes, but don't take it off until you get your next PSA."

Wednesday morning when The Doctor Is In, we'll talk to a Corewell Health doctor about prostate cancer early detection, who's at risk and what are the treatment options.