I nominate Rudolph W Giuliani, former mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, the 2010 Kcancer Hero.

 

In the middle of his U.S. Senate race, Giuliani was diagnosed at age 55 in April 2000 with prostate cancer on prostate biopsy after an elevated screening PSA. After diagnosis, he immediately consult oncologist and learnt his prostate cancer as much as possible. A timely informed decision on the treatment of his cancer was made. Giuliani decided beginning with four months of Lupron hormone therapy, following with low dose-rate prostate brachytherapy with permanent implantation of ninety TheraSeed radioactive palladium-103 seeds in his prostate, ending with five weeks of fifteen-minute, five-days-a-week external beam radiotherapy. Giuliani defeated his prostate cancer.

 

Although prostate cancer forced him to withdraw from the Senate race, Giuliani later said he was actually grateful for his prostate cancer in some sense: "I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it made me realize that other men will go through what I did, so I want to urge them to get prostate cancer tests (as early as possible If you're over 50 or in a high risk group)". In putting aside his race for the Senate race due to prostate cancer treatment, Giuliani recognized an irony. Had he won, he would not had been mayor of New York City a year later, on September 11, 2001. As Giuliani said: "Looking back on it now, making the decision to deal with the diagnosis and treatment of (my prostate cancer) promptly not only may have saved my life, but made it possible for me to serve my city when it needed me most.". Giuliani’s heroism on September 11, 2001 led New York and the entire country passing the darkest days in our nation’s modern history.

 

As a cancer survivor, Giuliani never stop fighting for American people. He is strong advocate for prostate cancer patients. Giuliani founded Giuliani Partners and ran for the Republican Party nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election. Giuliani inspired millions, particularly, cancer patients. For all these, I nominate Rudolph W Giuliani the 2010 Kcancer Hero.