The former European handball champion Klaus-Dieter Petersen has made prostate cancer public.
“I survived the operation and the rehabilitation well. The abdomen is healing, but that still takes time,” reported the long-time professional at THW Kiel in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”.
During a check-up last September, abnormal blood values were found.
As a result, the 54-year-old, who won the European Championship and Olympic silver with Germany in 2004, decided to have an operation: “The stomach is full of scars, so I felt a bit like Swiss cheese at first. “
Fortunately, Petersen added, “everything was discovered at an early stage”: “The cancer had not yet reached the wall of the prostate. The lymphatic vessels are not affected, so radiation or chemotherapy is not necessary.” The diagnosis was a “fair break” in his life.
The 340-time national player wants to sensitize the public to the topic with his step. “I want to call out to the men: Go to preventive care! Fortunately, the health insurance companies offer a lot. Early detection is the be-all and end-all. I can only advise everyone to keep to the preventive examinations. If, as with me, something comes of it, you have a chance to be healed,” said the former pivot.