Prostate screening draws endorsement of Albany woman who struggled to get her husband to get tested

By Alan Mauldin

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    ALBANY, Georgia (Albany Herald) — Phyllis Bridges knew something wasn’t right. She could have attributed changes in husband Anthony’s sleep and eating habits to aging, but the alteration was too extreme — and too sudden.

Where he once was a whirlwind of energy who hit the gym at 5 a.m. before work, he started dozing off within a few minutes of sitting down at home.

His appetite could be ravenous one day, and on others he would hardly eat at all.

“He would eat a whole plate of food and 10 minutes later say, ‘I’m hungry,’” she said. “Other times he was going to sleep, he was skipping meals. I said something is wrong because he is tired all of the time.”

It’s no secret that a wife is often more in tune to changes in her husband than the man himself, and this was such a case.

And one detail decided it for Bridges.

“The thing that really hit me was his breath,” she said. “He had a breath of sickness. When I told him, he laughed. He said the reason was he was hungry, he hadn’t eaten yet.

“I remembered when my mother’s breath changed” when she was ill.

Despite her gut feeling and every method she used to try to convince Anthony to go to the doctor, he resisted. He used a busy work schedule as an excuse for both not going to the doctor and his constant tiredness.

“I was saying ‘Baby, you need to get a physical,’” she said. “He would say nothing’s wrong, there’s no need to spend that money.”

Anthony resisted for more than two years, and his wife persisted.

“I said it would be unfair for you to leave me alone and leave me with these kids and grandkids when all you have to do is get a checkup,” she said. “I was crying. I tried everything. I tried loving and sweet.

“I took the next appropriate step. I used the boot. Then I changed and said, ‘I already made the appointment. This is the time, this is the date.’”

The diagnosis that ultimately came in 2018 was prostate cancer. When the Bridges got a second opinion at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility in Newnan, it was worse — Stage 3 of a very aggressive type of the disease.

After extensive treatment, Anthony Bridges was declared cancer-free at the end of 2021.

Today he uses his experience to help convince other men to not put off medical checkups to avoid the fate he nearly met due to his procrastination.

He also is one of the volunteers enlisted by the Phoebe Putney Health System. Through a grant from the Morehouse School of Medicine, Phoebe is training a group of church leaders and other men in the black community to encourage men to put an emphasis on prostate health.

On Saturday, Phoebe will give PSA tests from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 901 S. Westover Blvd.

Men who cannot make the event can receive a voucher through one of the participating churches to have the test done at no charge at a Phoebe facility.

“She was right,” Anthony Bridges said. “I was of the mindset (that) ‘if I’m feeling OK, why go to the doctor?’ The only time I went for a physical was for a job. I had three physicals in 17 years.

“This has changed since the cancer. I’m glad I went, because if I hadn’t, I might not be talking to you right now.”

The Saturday PSA screening is a simple blood draw, Kesia Mansfield, manager of clinical research at the Phoebe Cancer Center, said. Men who have elevated levels will be notified.

Also, Jeannetta Wynne, a registered nurse who serves as outreach navigator for the center, will help men make appointments and, if necessary, accompany individuals to the doctor’s office to assist.

“The health system saw it was important to try to navigate people through the system and help get these appointments scheduled,” Mansfield said.

Men who show up on Saturday also will receive some rewards.

“It’s called haircuts and ham,” Mansfield said. “Once they get their PSA done, they also will be able to get a haircut and take home a ham.

“Project Elevation is a group of African-American churches in the local area. They’re coming together to spread prostate cancer awareness among members of the churches and in the community.”

The goal of the project is to get 1,000 area men screened for prostate cancer and, for those who test positive, steered toward treatment. But the experience also will help men to begin having conversations about other health issues they may avoid, Mansfield said.

“They have come together and formed a bond,” she said. “It’s rewarding what they’re doing. It just opens the door for other conversations, other topics.”

As for Anthony Bridges, he is getting back to being his old self, although there is a noticeable change due to the treatment and cancer, his wife said.

“A few weeks ago, he was out playing basketball in the (pastor’s) driveway,” Phyllis Bridges said. “I said ‘You know you’re 60-something.’ He said ‘I’m about to school these boys.’

“I was amazed how he was able to do that. Feb. 17 my husband will be 66 years old, but he acts like he’s 20-something.”

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