Arnold Palmer

Cancer Type – Prostate

Bio – Arnold Palmer with 62 PGA Tour and 10 Senior PGA Tours wins were not this golf legend’s proudest moment.

Short Story – He is often referred to as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He won numerous PGA Tour tournaments, and has been nicknamed “The King.” He even has a drink named after him… I’ll take an Arnold Palmer please (half lemonade and half iced tea). He will continue to be a legend in golf. He left the world at the age of 87 (2016) while awaiting a cardiac surgery.

As the first person in the sport of golf to make $1 million, everyone idolized him. He was a hero. Yet his proudest moment was his win against prostate cancer.

Palmer was diagnosed in 1997 after several years of getting the PSA blood tests (which screen for levels of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland; high levels may indicate the presence of cancer). He chose to remove his prostate completely, and underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy.

The cancer never came back, and Palmer became an advocate to motivate men to talk to their doctors about their prostate cancer risk.

You will be missed Arnold.

Image Credits – By White House (Samantha Appleton) (The Official White House Photostream [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons