CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) -- For Chula Vista resident David Samudio, prostate cancer hits home.
Samudio’s father lost his battle with cancer in 2019, and then a year later, Samudio took on his struggle with the illness.
"It weighs on you. Another month went by, and you think, ‘It's probably growing some more,’" Samudio said.
In 2020, Samudio was diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, making the difficult decision this past summer to remove his prostate.
"The last test I got, I'm cancer-free now -- just really happy I was able to do that,” said Samudio.
Samudio is now urging friends and family to get tested early but said recommending it wasn't enough.
"We felt this was the platform where we could do a large event, and a lot of people would want to come, so we had people from all over,” Samudio told ABC 10News.
He, along with family members, partnered to lead a sub-organization with the Prostate Cancer Foundation. They held their inaugural gold event to promote prostate cancer awareness and raised over $11,000 for research.
"We had a group from Lemon Grove, San Diego Golf. I had people come from my previous work and a lot of family members and friends,” said Samudio.
Samudio thinks many men like this father can be stubborn when getting routine checks for prostate cancer, and preventative measures like early screenings are critical.
"When one person gets ill like that, it affects the whole family, and it was hard on the whole family. Men need to have an awareness about it and be preventive and proactive,” said Samudio.
Samudio’s sub-organization plans to hold smaller events throughout the year and his main golf event in Bonita, annually.
"It's really fulfilling and it’s something I think my father would look down and say, 'Hey, you're doing the right thing,’” said Samudio.
