Meet Relay for Life co-chair Jim Linehan of Taylors Falls

Jim Linehan, an honorary co-chair for the 2012 American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Chisago County, lost many family members to cancer including his brother, Gregg, their father and a grandfather. As for his own health, “After I turned fifty, I started taking things serious,” Linehan said. He underwent a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in July 2005, where physicians identified possible cancer, confirmed through biopsies that September. Linehan, with a fighting spirit, went through laparoscopic surgery in October followed by “thirty-nine bouts of radiation” into the spring of 2006. He was declared cancer-free in 2007.

He took a standard PSA every six months through five years into 2012. Now he will plan on an annual PSA. “It’s just a simple blood test,” said Linehan, of Taylors Falls, who continues to work part-time as a night unit specialist at Hazelden treatment center. “Everyone (over 50) should also have colonoscopy screenings and a yearly physical.” Despite his family health history, he was shocked upon receiving his cancer diagnosis. “I was totally taken by surprise. I had no idea what a PSA was,” he said. Today, he sees prostate cancer as a likelihood for any man with the fortune to live long enough. “Prostate cancer to a man is like breast cancer to a woman,” Linehan said. “It’s not preventable, it’s probable. Don’t mess around with it. Follow the rules.” He will celebrate his personal victory with family and friends at the Relay for Life that begins 5:30 p.m. Friday, July 20, with a reception for survivors, followed by an opening ceremony at 6:30 p.m. The event is at the Almelund Threshing Show grounds on Highway 95.