An Interview with Arnold Palmer: Arnie’s Biggest Win

The legendary golfer is raising awareness about the importance of early detection of prostate cancer.

Arnold Palmer won 62 PGA tournaments, 10 Senior PGA tournaments and seven major championships during a professional golfing career that spanned five decades. But with all those victories, Palmer considers his win against prostate cancer to be one of his biggest. Even at age 86, Palmer devotes much of his time and energy to raising awareness about prostate-cancer prevention and detection in men around the world.

How did you learn you had prostate cancer?
I was in San Diego in 1997 to attend an awards ceremony by the PGA. My doctor called me, and I knew right then that something was wrong. He told me I probably had prostate cancer. For several years, my physician and I had been watching the situation closely because my PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test had been slowly rising for several years. I had even had a few biopsies done, but they had all come back benign. But this time, the results revealed early-stage cancer.

What was your reaction to your diagnosis?
Well, I can’t deny I was scared to death. My first response was to get it done. Go right now and get this thing taken care of. So I flew the next morning back home and then went to see a medical team at the Mayo Clinic.

What treatment did you receive?
I was given a number of different treatment options. In the end, I chose to have my prostate removed completely. Looking back, it was the right decision. After the surgery, I had seven weeks of radiation therapy. And a week after that I was back on the golf course, and the cancer has never returned.

What do you want men to know about prostate cancer?
Many men believe prostate cancer is a slow-growing disease. As a result, they mistakenly think there’s no need to be concerned and/or to have a prostate screening.

Of course, some forms of prostate cancer are slow to develop. But other forms are very aggressive. That’s the reason I always tell men over 50 to have their prostate checked annually by their doctor so they know where they stand.

How else are you helping to raise awareness about prostate cancer?
I had a personal relationship with President Eisenhower, who loved to play golf. So I was proud to lend my name to the Arnold Palmer Prostate Center, located in Palm Springs, California, at the Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center. The center takes a TEAM (Treatment, Education, Awareness and Management) approach, recognizing that every cancer patient is unique.

Do you have any final thoughts for our readers?
There’s nothing I want to do more now than to motivate men to talk to their doctor about prostate cancer. And it doesn’t matter how young you are. When I was having my prostate surgery, the man in the next room was a 29-year-old minister who was having the same radical surgery for prostate cancer. He’s alive today because they caught it early. So talk to your doctor, not only about your prostate, but also about your heart, about having a colonoscopy, and your health in general. You can have all the things in the world, but being healthy is the good life. The quicker you react, the better off you’re going to be. There was a time when I didn’t even want to say the word cancer. It frightened me to think about it. But I’ve learned that the best thing you can do is talk about it and take actions to make sure you’re cancer-free.