kirby checked his psa annually, constructing his own personal psa slope which remained low. however, in 2012, at the age of 61, he noticed a rise and following a 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging, transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy and bone scan, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgical treatment for the condition he had treated throughout his surgical career. a gleason 3+4=7 1.3cc adenocarcinoma was completely resected and he made a full recovery.