It is a scourge that has reemerged throughout Tony Gonzalez’s life, that continues bedeviling his family, yet he is grateful for the chance to take some small action against it.
Prostate cancer claimed Gonzalez’s grandfather in 1981, when he was barely a kindergartener, and also took the life of his uncle only a couple years after Gonzalez was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Now, another uncle faces a similar battle with the disease.
At 49, Gonzalez has been getting screened for several years, particularly given his family history. Now, he is all too eager to amplify the message behind a blood test that can aid in early detection of prostate cancer without the traditionally invasive screening previous generations endured.
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Gonzalez, along with a half-dozen other tight ends and Super Bowl-winning coach and prostate cancer survivor Bruce Arians appear in “Relax Your Tight End,” a Novartis Super Bowl advertisement that urges early screening and use of the new blood test.
Gonzalez, along with retired luminaries like Rob Gronkowski and Greg Olsen and two-time All-Pro George Kittle, are shown in various stages of repose, floating in a pool or frozen in a yoga pose, their typically keyed-up personalities soothed by the notion of a less-invasive prostate cancer screening at their disposal.
It is a light touch applied to a subject that’s been far too heavy for Gonzalez.
“It’s something that’s personal to me,” Gonzalez tells USA TODAY Sports in a video interview. “It runs in my family. And obviously I’m somebody at risk for it. I’ve teamed up with them mainly because of that – to get the word out and let people know about early detection, that there’s a better way than what it used to be.
“A blood test is a better way than getting it done the old way. I’ve had it done the old way and I think it’s great to get the word out there about early detection and the survival rate that goes along with that.”
Roughly one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, but early detection produces a more than 99% five-year survival rate. The PSA test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in the blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.
While it can detect high levels of PSA, the blood test does not provide precise diagnostic information on the prostate. An elevated level of PSA, though, could prompt a doctor to order further testing or a biopsy.
Gonzalez views it as an easier first step to prevention than the more common digital rectum examination.
“So much easier,” says Gonzalez. “I was in that camp who had it done the old way. And it’s not very comfortable. It’s just another way to test for it, and it’s just a simple blood test.
“It lets you take a sigh. A lot of men don’t do it because of the way it’s been tested before. It’s an alternative to the old test and it’s much easier than the old test.”
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Arians, 73, narrates the spot, noting he was around to coach Gronkowski and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title because his 2007 prostate cancer was diagnosed early in the process. Arians also had cancerous cells removed from his nose in 2013, and 2017 surgery to remove a cancerous spot on a kidney.
Gonzalez ranks third in NFL history in receptions (1,325), sixth in receiving yards (15,127) and ninth in touchdown catches (111). Though he never played for Arians, Gonzalez, a 14-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro, crossed paths with Arians at myriad league events and calls the coach “a hoot and a fun guy, who obviously represents us well.”
The spot also curates almost every Canton-worthy tight end not named Travis Kelce over the years in one place.
“The cultural phenomenon of tight ends over the years – I’ve always said, man, there’s no better example of a football player than a tight end,” says Gonzalez. “You get to block. You get to run the ball. You’re so diversified when you’re on that field and it’s so cool.
“Mike Ditka. Shannon Sharpe. You got Greg Olsen. Travis. Kittle. Huge personalities, media-type people, people who act. It’s all over the board. And I always wonder, ‘Why is that?’ Except maybe the quarterback position you don’t see that.
“And I think maybe it’s because we do everything.”
That includes Gonzalez, part of the high-energy pre- and postgame crew on Amazon’s Thursdayfootball broadcasts. He gleans great joy as the old head alongside Andrew Whitworth, Richard Sherman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and host Charissa Thompson – “The glue that keeps us all together,” he says – and calls Wednesdays through Fridays the highlights of his week.
Gonzalez maintains contact with old Chiefs and Falcons teammates via two massive group texts, and as he nears his 50th birthday, has discovered the tenor of the chats can turn more serious.
“This is something we talk about,” he says of prostate caoncer. “’Did you get tested? Did you do this?’
“It’s a lot more talked-about subject when you get into the age of retired players.”
