Being the shameless groupie that I am, I have had mad crushes on more than one musical artist in my 52 years and Dan Fogelberg was one of them. He died, at the age of 56, from prostate cancer and my heart is broken. His music reminds me of my twenties when life stretched out like an endless two lane highway to the next adventure. When I visited his website earlier today after reading the news, there was a post about his death and testimonial from him about the importance of early detection by digital rectal exam and PSA level. Not fun things to think about, but often lifesaving tests.

Cancer of the prostate is unusual in that if it detected when the cancer is confined to the prostate itself, it is easily curable. Once the disease progresses to the bone marrow, its' secondary site, it can be handled with medication and or radiation but it will never be "cured". Such was the case with my Uncle Jimbo, the band director. He died at age 54 from prostate cancer that had been detected by an enzyme test during a routine physicial that showed increased bone activity. Though it had spread, he lived happily and healthily for four more years until his disease decided not to respond to the treatment any longer and became aggressive. In the end, the cancer took over his bone marrow requiring numerous transfusions of blood and platelets for survival. Eventually, even that was not enough. During his last days he was constantly busy with his hands "making platelets". So, in honor of both of them, I dedicate one of Fogelberg's most memorable tunes, Leader of the Band.