Good News: Musician’s legacy lives on for more than music

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A well-known American musician’s legacy lives on today, but not entirely because of his music

While many enjoy listening to Dan Fogelberg, for some, influence runs much deeper and men’s lives are being saved.

“On December 16 back in 2007, musical hero, a man by the name of Dan Fogelberg passed away from prostate cancer. The very next day, the Friends of Fogelberg was born,” said Joe Ed Coffman, founder of Fogelberg.

Coffman and the Friends of Fogelberg launched a mission for prostate cancer awareness and the importance of early detection.

The organization has been hosting annual concerts to raise funding and has partnered with local medical groups to provide free prostate cancer screenings now for more than a decade.

With prostate cancer, early detection is absolutely critical.

“For men that are identified early, our cure rates are very, very high. Cancer is a sneaky thing, and so there’s no such thing as 100 percent, for any cancer we deal with, but for guys that are identified early, a lot of times their cure rates are on the order of 90 percent,” said Amarillo Urology Associates Dr. David Wilhelm, MD.

There are usually no symptoms with prostate cancer until after the cancer has spread and is much more life threatening.

The PSA test can detect the presence of cancer while at an early, treatable stage. After a simple and quick blood draw at the screening, results are then mailed to your home.

This is how I found out that I had prostate cancer.

“You were found early and I think you can still go on and live a normal life,” Wilhelm said.

The concert is being held tomorrow night at the Globe News Center and tickets are still available.

The free PSA screening will be Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Amarillo Urology Associates building.

It’s free and quick but could possibly be the most important five minutes of some men’s lives.

“Because of Dan Fogelberg’s death many men now live that have discovered they have prostate cancer. They would not have known if they had not come to the PSA free screening test,” Coffman said.

Fortunately and very thankfully, there are survivors and because of the Friends of Fogelberg, many other men can be screened this week, catch prostate cancer early, and have a very bright future.

Now, that’s some good news.

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