Philly13, known as Stephen Saft, has passed away after a valiant battle. I got to know him personally thru this site. We helped each other throughout our difficult journeys.
I had no idea that he had entered hospice several weeks ago. I wish I had one last chance to speak with him. He was a wonderful person. I will miss him greatly.š
I highly recommend taking a look at his detailed profile and numerous posts. They will tell you a lot about the man himself and his numerous treatments. He was 6 foot 6 and an avid athlete all his life. He did as much as he could to fight this disease. He was a true warrior and mentor to many of us, with his helpful posts.
Written by
HopingForTheBest1
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Its sad to hear. I do hope he went in peace with loved ones around. His avatar always peaked my interest as those were the days when I was a kid watching the NBA.
I try to live in the moment but its hard sometimes especially when familiar brothers here pass on.
I have been reading Stephen's posts and I'm saddened to hear that we lost such a great comrade at age 68. He was diagnosed with PCa 5 years ago having a PSA of only 2.5. His father died of PCa at 60 and Steve was obviously more proactive than most of us; however, his cancer was aggressive and responded poorly to most of his treatments.
Men coming from families with PCa history certainly can't go by the old PSA level of ~4 before getting a biopsy. Unfortunately I waited until mine was in that range before I became concerned and had a biopsy. Unlike my older brother who demanded a biopsy when his PSA was well below 3, I waited too long. His urologist suggested 'watchful waiting' which he refused to do. He is now 84 and has been cured for 22 years with none of the problems that usually occur along with RPs.
My surgeon estimated that I most likely had PCa for at least 5 years before doing anything.
An abnormal DRE observation got me sent for a biopsy. Due to that Preventive Services Task Force nonsense years ago my GPA refused to authorize a PSA test at all which astonished the urologist I got sent to. My PSA at time of diagnosis (Gleason 8) was only 2.7. I had to nag my GPA to even get that DRE test.
Condolences and heartfelt sorrow for all the family and friends who suffer his loss. Another warrior falls from the line!
Stand fast shall we, if at all, in rememberance of those warriors who so valiantly held the line before us! Flinch, bend, and bow, but locked arm in arm, we dont break the line, most knowingly accepting our fate, but refusing to submit to the attack upon our lives, our being!
Thanks for letting us know. His presence will be missed and as hard as it is to hear of another member passing its better than having them just disappear into the void.
Thank you for news of Stehen Saft's passing. Sometimes a family doesn't get that involved with the sites a family has used for support and their passing isn't known but other members of a site are left wondering.
My sincere sympathies to all who were close to Stephen Saft.
I am so sorry to hear this. Every time one of our brave brothers dies with disease I have this feeling that a little bit of me died too. Heartbreaking.
too many of us die too soon, and whenever one of our brothers depart, I am saddened more than before. That sadness has actually caused some to leave this site, and I understand it. The most touching tributes came from another member who has left, and to paraphrase him, I wish Stephen Shalom HaGadol - inadequately translated as the Great Peace!
There are so many on this site that no longer post and we just don't hear from. I suspect the majority have succumbed to this disease. After all, this site is for advanced PC. I would rather be notified, than not, of each warroir who has lost his battle. We can all learn from each others successful and failed treatments.
This gentleman appears to have had approximately 5 years from similar initial diagnosis as myself although he did not appear to respond to treatments - what an absolute dissapointment - Hope medical community eventually get a grip of all cancers including prostate sometime soon, my absolute kindest regards Raoul
that is extremely sad to hear. Maybe this is bad etiquette but it could be useful for some.. from his profile it sounded like it did not spread outside of the prostate, do you know of any complications or was it more progressed than I had interpreted?
If not the time to ask this i apologize. Iām sorry for the loss of your friend. Just reading your post hit my emotions as anyone else Iām sure as the all emotions associated with this hits close to home
Thank you for letting us know of his passing. These are hard posts to write. So sorry to hear of this. God bless his family and you also Hoping. I know this hits hard for you.
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Kmack57 Loses the Battle
Courageous 12 year battle
Ten year battle is over.
A fight was lost today. 
