Ozzie Smith: ‘We’re back to baseball the way we grew up knowing it’
Article By mcrossman.tsn on 19th July, 2010
Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer in American men, behind only skin cancer. But it is treatable -- only one out of 35 men who get it dies from it. Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, a spokesman for the Depend Campaign to End Prostate Cancer, talked with Sporting News' Matt Crossman about that campaign and baseball topics.
Ozzie Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. SN: Tell me about the campaign.
Smith: I'm encouraging all men 50 and older -- 40 and older if you're African American and those with a family history of the disease -- to get involved talking to their doctor about their prostate health. With early detection, prostate cancer is not only treatable, it's beatable. One out of every six men in the country will at some point in time have to deal with prostate cancer. The key to eradicating this is early detection.
So many men, men that I know, especially in the baseball family, have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because of early detection, they've been able to cure it. The good news is when it's detected early, the survival rate is very high. More than 90 percent of the prostate cancer cases are discovered when the cancer is either local or regional. Nearly 100 percent of men are still living five years after being diagnosed.
SN: Where are we in terms of persuading men that it isn't that embarrassing to get it checked?
Smith: It's always been an issue with men because we're all so personal and we don't want to get involved. That's why we're calling on women to talk to their loved ones and get into that first conversation about how important it is to get that prostate checked. The earlier you detect it, the better chance you have of living a great, normal, long life.
SN: Now some baseball questions. The shortstop position, in your era, was flashy gloves, and if you could hit, great. Then we went through the A-Rod, Cal Ripken era where the guys were bombers....
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for MLB
Ozzie Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. SN: Tell me about the campaign.
Smith: I'm encouraging all men 50 and older -- 40 and older if you're African American and those with a family history of the disease -- to get involved talking to their doctor about their prostate health. With early detection, prostate cancer is not only treatable, it's beatable. One out of every six men in the country will at some point in time have to deal with prostate cancer. The key to eradicating this is early detection.
So many men, men that I know, especially in the baseball family, have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because of early detection, they've been able to cure it. The good news is when it's detected early, the survival rate is very high. More than 90 percent of the prostate cancer cases are discovered when the cancer is either local or regional. Nearly 100 percent of men are still living five years after being diagnosed.
SN: Where are we in terms of persuading men that it isn't that embarrassing to get it checked?
Smith: It's always been an issue with men because we're all so personal and we don't want to get involved. That's why we're calling on women to talk to their loved ones and get into that first conversation about how important it is to get that prostate checked. The earlier you detect it, the better chance you have of living a great, normal, long life.
SN: Now some baseball questions. The shortstop position, in your era, was flashy gloves, and if you could hit, great. Then we went through the A-Rod, Cal Ripken era where the guys were bombers....
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for MLB
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San Diego Padres Tickets: The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California.
Tampa Bay Rays Tickets: The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in 1998, the club has played at Tropicana Field.
The Florida Marlins were established in 1993 as an expansion franchise, the Florida Marlins Tickets are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League.
San Francisco Giants Tickets are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, who currently play in the National League West Division.
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