In this episode of the On Call for Men's Health podcast, Dr. Michael Lutz is joined by Frank Lescas, Vice President of Marketing at Blue Earth Diagnostics, to discuss prostate cancer survivorship, the evolution of prostate cancer diagnostics, and the role of radiopharmaceuticals in improving men's health. Blue Earth Diagnostics, founded in 2014, has become a leader in developing innovative diagnostic tools, especially for prostate cancer, with products like Axumin and Posluma, which allow physicians to better visualize cancer at a cellular level using PET scans. This can all follow the initial screening, which is done with a simple blood test.
Frank shares how Blue Earth's radiopharmaceuticals have revolutionized prostate cancer diagnostics by offering more precise imaging than traditional CT or MRI scans. This improved precision enables doctors like Dr. Lutz to better assess the stage of the disease, facilitating more informed decisions about treatment options, and advancing the shared decision-making process between patients and healthcare providers.
Throughout the episode, Frank reflects on his personal connection to prostate cancer. His grandfather and uncle both battled the disease in different eras, with his uncle benefitting from advances in PSA testing and therapeutic options. His brother, diagnosed more recently, exemplifies the benefits of modern prostate cancer management, including active surveillance and PSMA PET scanning. Frank stresses the importance of regular screening and advocacy, encouraging men to get PSA tests as part of their routine healthcare.
The conversation also highlights how prostate cancer diagnostics have evolved from crude blood tests in the 1970s to today's highly sensitive imaging and genetic tests. Dr. Lutz emphasizes the growing role of liquid biopsies and multiparametric MRIs, which, along with advanced PET scans, allow for more accurate staging and treatment planning. The episode calls for men to be proactive about their health, get screened regularly, and take advantage of advancements in prostate cancer detection and treatment.
You'll also hear about Frank's experience as an Olympic swimmer as well!
More:
Michigan Men's Health Foundation: https://www.miumenshealthfoundation.org/
Blue Earth Diagnostics: https://www.blueearthdiagnostics.com/
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Welcome to the On Call for Men's Health podcast, and I'm Dr. Michael Lutz. This is where we talk about things you don't want to talk about, but these are conversations that could save your life or the lives of the men you love. So, thank you for joining us.
And today, we're going to talk about men's health and prostate cancer survivorship and the role that some of the pharmaceutical industry actually plays to actually improve the health of the men of our community. And our guest today is Frank Lescas. Frank is from Blue Earth Diagnostics. Thanks for joining us, Frank.
Frank Lescas:
Thank you, Dr. Lutz.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
You're the Vice President of Marketing at Blue Earth Diagnostics, we'll get into that. But I'm just kind of curious – Blue Earth Diagnostics hasn't been around for a long time. It's only been since 2014. So, can you tell us a little bit about the company itself and why the name Blue Earth?
Frank Lescas:
Absolutely. It always comes up as a topic of conversation. So, the company was started in 2014, and it was initially funded by part of the Wellcome Trust. And as a nod to Sir Henry Wellcome, he used to summer in Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
And so, they named the company basically after his namesake, so it is Blue Earth Diagnostics. Was originally started with the idea to help find prostate cancer in men, and we created several radiopharmaceuticals that helped do that.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
That's fantastic. So, you've watched the company grow and progress. Where did you work before Blue Earth?
Frank Lescas:
So, I started my career in pharmaceuticals back in the late 90s with Bristol Myers Squibb, and through the primary care sales teams and worked through that, and eventually found my way into oncology on the service side of the business.
And I was heading a couple different companies looking at CME programs for physicians and really trying to elevate the education around some of the new innovative products that were coming out in the early 2000s and into the early 2010s.
If you remember, we went from more broad-based chemotherapeutics to much more targeted kinase inhibitors and other treatments that were very specific to specific tumors.
And then as we got later into the 2010s and the 2015 and such, I was running an advertising agency focused entirely on oncology and spent a lot of time within the prostate cancer field at that time, and then ended up at Blue Earth Diagnostics. And again, it's been a privilege and a pleasure to be working with them now since 2020.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, there's no question that Blue Earth Diagnostics is on the cutting edge with regards to the role of diagnostics and theranostics. Can you talk a little bit about radiopharmaceuticals, which is really kind of the gist of our conversation besides you, as to what Blue Earth is known for?
Frank Lescas:
Radiopharmaceuticals is a very interesting field because for a very long time (and you would know this as a urologist), it was very hard to predict exactly where cancer was. We would get a PSA exam, and you would see a number, and maybe numbers over time created a doubling time.
And from that information and some of the patient presentation, there were assumptions made, good assumptions based on empiric data. But a CT and an MRI just were not good enough to provide enough information to tell us where the cancer was.
And as radiopharmaceuticals came into play, we were the makers of a product, or we are the makers of a product called Axumin (Fluciclovine F 18), it's a metabolic tracer. So, using the natural metabolism of cancer cells, we're able to attach the radiopharmaceutical to a synthetic amino acid molecule, which then sucks into the cancer cell, and then you can see it through a PET scan technology, which is pretty amazing.
And it was really that innovation that started the idea of using PET scans on a regular basis for prostate cancer patients. Now, that product was specific in the recurrent setting for prostate cancer.
But finally, we were blessed in 2020 with the Gallium PSMA agent that was launched by UCLA and UCSF, which really revolutionized the way we think about prostate cancer, and that really attaches to a cell surface antigen.
Our product Posluma (Flotufolastat F 18) is the same kind of technology, but we use a fluorinated radiopharmaceutical versus gallium. But it’s the same kind of technology where it attaches to a cell surface antigen that's predominantly expressed on prostate cancer cells, and by again, attaching and internalizing into that cell shows and lights up on a PET scans.
So, now, you're able to get a better picture of what's going on inside the patient beyond just the numbers and the patient presentation. So, now, a full picture of what's happening is available. So, you, Dr. Lutz, talking to your patients and the patients in particular have a better sense of what to do next.
And a shared decision-making process can take place because everyone now knows and understands not only what's happening with the numbers, but they can see where it is and the decisions on treatment can be made more effectively.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Just to give people a perspective; when I first trained back in the late 70s and early 80s, PSA didn't exist. PSA wasn't really discovered until 1979, 1980; clinically until about 1981 to 1983. So, before PSA existed, the only blood test we had was alkaline phosphatase.
And what that blood test would do is it would only tell us if you had prostate cancer, if it had already spread to your bones. In other words, the disease was no longer clinically localized, it was out of the box, and it was not curable. And so, over half of the diagnoses of prostate cancer made pre-PSA were metastatic disease.
Lo and behold, PSA comes into the forefront and it changed the disease from diagnosing only 75,000 cases annually in the United States to over 250,000 annually.
Continually, all the way through the years, even until now, when we're now diagnosing almost 300,000 a year, only recently higher because of the delayed or diminished diagnosis as a result of COVID.
Now, along comes Blue Earth Diagnostics and the development of these phenomenal PET scans where we can now look at prostate cancer cells at the cellular level where we can actually go down and detect just cells with prostate cancer.
So, the ability to stage people has improved so significantly that we're now diagnosing more men who have disease that's no longer organ-confined, but only because we have the sensitivity of the scan to say, “Yep, this guy is probably not going to be organ-confined or he's going to need more aggressive therapy. We can actually more tailor-make their treatment options.”
So, what you are a part of is what I believe is the biggest advance in prostate cancer diagnostics since the development and the implementation of PSA.
Frank Lescas:
Well, thank you, and it's been great in this industry. Like you, Dr. Lutz, I mean, I've been involved in prostate cancer professionally since 2003 with the launch of Taxotere docetaxel for metastatic prostate cancer.
I mean, personally, you talk about the early 80s, that's when my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And I know we were going to get to this subject in a few minutes, but you've segued it very nicely.
I mean, finding out my grandfather had prostate cancer and advanced prostate cancer when he was approaching 80, he was probably 78-years-old. I was a young 14-year-old boy, and it was devastating. And it was devastating because to your point, there was no early marker.
And so, by the time they realized he had prostate cancer, it was widespread throughout his body, and to watch him really suffer in those last two years was horrific. And it left an indelible mark in my brain and in my persona that I wanted to find ways to get into this industry and find ways that we can be part of the solution.
When my uncle was diagnosed in 1997, which was my grandfather's son, obviously, he said, “Not me. I'm not doing what my dad did. And so, we got to take care of this right away.” And in 2016 when he had his first recurrence, the “I wish” statement at the time was that I worked here, that Blue Earth Diagnostics was here to allow for a product to be able to see inside his body because we never knew where the cancer was, but treatment was prescribed nonetheless.
And I feel like he may have had a better outcome (we don't know). He's still alive now, two recurrences later at the ripe age of 87. And then recently my brother was diagnosed a few years ago.
And this is where really some of the advances you were talking about with PSMA PET. Sure there was a change in his PSA, so that alerted urologists to pay attention to his condition. And it was the constant act of surveillance, which was an excellent choice for him with a low-grade tumor to do PET scanning, PSMA PET scanning along the way. And very recently through their activities, they decided now was time to treat.
And so, he recently just a few months ago went through his treatment and is recovering well. And so, I find it
very ironic that three relatives of mine have gone through this journey across different time periods where we know more than we did 20, 30 years ago.
But I feel like we're almost getting to that point where we have so much more information and we can definitely make a better-informed decision for patients, and so I'm really happy with being in this field now.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, your family history actually personifies the evolution of prostate cancer diagnostics and therapeutics with your grandfather having been diagnosed in the pre-PSA era, demonstrating that he was diagnosed with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis and was not curable, and unfortunately, succumbed to the disease.
When nowadays, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force will say, “Don't screen these men. If you're above a specific age (and they use 70 or 75 as a cutoff) don't screen these guys because they're too old.” Well, the reality is, is that age is the biggest risk factor for prostate cancer, second only by family history.
So, your grandfather had a big risk and unfortunately was diagnosed at late stage. And now, we move forward to your uncle who had the benefit of PSA diagnostics and was undiagnosed, and has had even more so the advantages of all of these new therapeutics.
Because back in my early training days, all we had was hormone therapy. Chemotherapy didn't exist, the oral agents, what I call the bicalutamide and triclutamides didn't exist, and we didn't look at the genetics and the response rates from the different treatment options for patients. And so, your uncle has truly benefited from that, and then comes along your brother.
Now, your brother chose active surveillance, which was never offered back in the days of even your uncle. That's another evolutionary treatment option because many men can be monitored as if it's hypertension or some other chronic illness, even though 40 to 50% may go on and choose treatment.
When they do choose treatment, they choose it at a different stage of life when it won't impact them as much, and the treatments may have matured or improved from the time of the initial diagnosis.
So, your story is absolutely the epitome of the evolution of prostate cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. And so, my question to you is, is what do you do for screening?
Frank Lescas:
Yeah, that's a great question. So, since I turned 50 (and I guess I have to admit that now on this podcast), I've been going annually for PSA tests. Fortunately, I'm still at the undetectable level but it's something that I definitely monitor and go annually to my urologist to check.
I believe that to your point, Dr. Lutz, I mean family history, you said it was the second most leading cause, I agree with that, and it's been something that I've been monitoring since I was eligible to monitor.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
In general, do you find that Blue Earth has had an impact on the way you view prostate cancer or has your family history had an impact on how you work at Blue Earth?
Frank Lescas:
That's a great question. That's a little bit of both, I think. Having the family history and prostate cancer dating back to the late 90s and before obviously, that has been a focus of mine once I first got into pharmaceuticals to focus in on prostate cancer. And I've been fortunate since 2003 to be part of it in some way, shape or form with a variety of companies throughout the years.
But coming here, it got me to a different point of advocacy, and thinking about all the men that I know now that have prostate cancer and the first question I have is, “Did you get a PET scan?” Because there's so much that we need to see before we make a decision.
I've been amazed at some of the treatment changes that have been made based on what we thought prior to a PET scan versus what we found out afterwards, what patients were able to do instead because perhaps, a prostatectomy was futile or radiation was futile because the prostate cancer had already migrated outside of the prostate bed, and so now it's time to think about different systemic treatment options.
As you get older, I guess my thought process is I don't want to waste time in life, so let's get to the things that are going to work faster instead of having to go through the cycles of what was based on historical theory and get into what actually can work.
So, I've been really excited. This company has really shown me, and this industry and the greater pharmaceutical industry has really shown physicians that these tests are valuable and provide valuable information.
And I really feel like we're on the precipice of what is going to be an amazing next evolution, because as we get more into the theranostics, not only with prostate cancer, but other disease states, I think it's just going to get even more exciting.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
I agree. So, I'm just kind of curious with your family history and what you do for a living, what are your thoughts on prostate cancer screening in general, and also, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's recommendations?
Frank Lescas:
So, I'll start with the U.S. Preventive Task Force recommendations. I understand why they made their decision. The prevalence at such a young age, probably didn't … a friend of mine says the juice isn't worth the squeeze. There aren’t as many patients that you're going to capture at that age that's going to necessitate everybody getting it. I also feel like it was the worst decision the U.S. Preventive Task Force could have made.
The idea of the word “preventative” in the title means you would test as many people as you can to prevent. I think following that decision, we have found (and you can correct me if I'm wrong on this) that we're finding more cancers in the metastatic setting than ever before.
Because when we had PSA and everybody was using PSA as the gold standard marker, we were finding more local disease which is more treatable. As it gets to metastatic, it's just more challenging, and so let's find it early. Now, we have options for active surveillance, you had mentioned that earlier.
If I catch it earlier, I have options here for the patient that are better and even our technology, put the drugs aside for a minute – our robotic prostatectomies are better than they were years ago by hand. Our radiation is better. The technology around delivering radiation appropriately is better. And so, we can use these strategies and when we have localized disease, so it's really important to diagnose it earlier.
The thing that I tell people the most (and if you can tell, I talk a lot) – but I talk to everybody. I go to convention shows and I talk to the people that are cleaning afterwards, “Did you get your PSA checked?” And each one of them says the same thing, “I am not doing that test.” But what they really think is they're thinking of a digital rectal exam. “I'm not doing that test.”
And I keep telling them – and I was just at an event this past weekend with patients and I'm saying, “You get a blood test. That's not anything but a blood test. You have to get this, you must get this. Even if it's just for a baseline. Get the test. Get the test and figure out where you are.”
“If there's a problem then we'll go to figuring out the next steps, which will include other diagnosis procedures, most likely including a biopsy at some point, but let's first get the PSA. Because if we can find it early, you have a much better chance at long-term quality of life survival than if we catch it later, so you have to get it.”
And so, I really harp on that. I think there's such an educational gap with men, and men are the worst at discussing their health. But if we can really reinforce to patients that you need to include a PSA test when you turn 50 or 55, I guess depending on your insurance coverage.
But as soon as you get to that age, ensure that when you get your normal blood work, that they include the PSA test in there because you have to start getting that because we have to find out earlier because we have to stop this disease.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
The American Cancer Society recently did a survey amongst men. 60% of them believe that screening for prostate cancer required a rectal examination, and had no clue that the PSA blood test was the initial part of the screening.
And more importantly, just in the last year, the American Urological Association did a query to all of the attendees to see if there was interest in actually deleting the digital rectal examination totally from prostate cancer evaluation and screening. So, there is a definite movement more towards looking at metabolic and biochemical diagnoses of prostate cancer.
And in the last 10 years, there's been a significant advance in what we call liquid biopsy tests, urine and serum-based tests that are significantly more sensitive and specific in diagnosing prostate cancer, and enhance the accuracy and efficacy of PSA screening, and the role of multiparametric MRIs and looking for clinically localized disease.
And now, with the advance of the PET scan that Blue Earth offers, we now have this incredible trifecta of opportunities for men to be diagnosed with the least amount of torture in the process. Because one of the biggest complaints that has been in existence since I went in practice in 1986, was. “You’re screening and you're harmlessly hurting all of these men.”
But what they didn't realize that if you looked at the data, the long-term data from the screening studies that existed in Europe and particularly for PSA screening tests, they showed that lives were saved, and the percentage of lives that are saved continue to increase day by day as the study goes on
further and further.
So, we know that early detection and screening plays a role, that the advances in these liquid biopsy tests and the advances in MRI imaging of the prostate – and you notice I haven't even mentioned the word biopsy because biopsy is not a knee jerk reflex any longer.
We now look at all these other opportunities first to determine what is the risk factor of this individual based on his age, family history, PSA, and other presenting markers and tests that have been performed before you go down the road to a biopsy. And then most of the time, we do fusion biopsies, which improve the accuracy and staging capabilities.
And then with the addition of the PET scan imaging, we now have this incredible ability to accurately stage and determine, “Is this individual a good candidate for active surveillance and do they need intervention?”
I think that we are in the cusp of an absolutely great period of time for prostate cancer diagnostic and therapeutics, and that's why I'm thrilled to have you here today to share your message, and more importantly, honestly, is your family story, which is just so incredible.
Frank Lescas:
It's exactly right Dr. Lutz. I was just going to add you had mentioned my brother and my uncle – well, my uncle, he actually had brachytherapy back in the late 90s. But my brother getting an opportunity at active surveillance, and just for the history lesson, we used to call that watching and waiting.
And I think this idea of active surveillance is correct in that we can now monitor these patients in a way that's less invasive. You just mentioned staying away from biopsy – that's an unpleasant, in some cases can be unpleasant procedure and not many people really want to go through that. And if you've been through it once, you don't want to go through it a second time or a third time or a fourth time.
Being able to image them, being able to use some of these other markers, being able to monitor them in a way that is less invasive will only enhance our usage of active surveillance, and may give us a break from perhaps, I don't want to say unnecessary, but sometimes aggressive early intervention that may not have been as necessary at that time. We may be able to monitor them a little longer and make better decisions in a later timeframe.
So, I just think there's a lot going on here, and let's focus on those patients that have really aggressive disease, high Gleason scores that may have metastatic disease that we really need to focus on because those patients really need the help as much as they can.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Part of the problem is getting the message out and using proper messengers to help get the message out. It's really hard to get men to speak to other men, whether it's their barbers or their preachers or their physicians or a good friend because men don't like to talk about illness, and men don't like to convince other men to go get screened and get healthcare. So, we need to find ways to become advocates for men.
And I know you are a fan of community advocacy. Our foundation's been around now for 15 years, and we do an annual men's health event where we screen over a thousand guys at our men's health event at Ford Field.
Even though I know the Lions are obviously not your favorite team, it's evident from what you're wearing. But the bottom line is, is that whether you like the Lions or not, Fort Field's a beautiful place to hold a screening event, and screening over a thousand guys has been life-telling.
And we find a lot of men with prostate cancer, in addition to all the other illnesses that we screen for. So, how do you believe you as an individual doing what you do can become a community advocate?
Frank Lescas:
So, I find it interesting every time I play golf with another group of guys that I've known for 20 years, and we'll have a conversation, next thing you know, they ask me what I do, and I tell them. And then it's like, “Oh, I had prostate cancer 10 years ago.” “I'm sorry, excuse me. I'm just finding out about this now?”
That's what happens. Men have it, they're very private about their journey, and there's so many opportunities just being with them in a golf outing setting or at other corporate events to remind folks to get tested.
For me, I get involved with a couple different advocacy groups. I go out, I talk to men, I talk to their wives because a lot of times, it's the wives that are drivers of their healthcare decisions, and to remind them again that it's a blood test, let's start with the blood test and we'll go from there.
There's other events that I get involved with different charitable organizations. I love the idea at Ford Field, what are men known to do? They play golf, they watch sports, let's get them where they're going to be – you're going to rob the bank, that's where the money's at. So, at the football stadium is where they're going to be. So, how do we energize that group?
The other one I would think about, especially when you think about college sports – I'm not worried about the college kids, but all the dads in the stadium at that age are probably around 50 and most likely are getting to that point where early testing is important.
So, I was just at my daughter's college this past weekend and I was talking to all the dads that were there about making sure they get their PSA checked. It's important that we do that, and we have to as stewards of this industry or stewards of this disease state that whenever possible and however possible, that when we are talking to men of age, that we remind them to get their PSA checked in their normal healthcare rhythm, and that they should be seeing their doctor anyway for other diseases they may have. So, taking control of your health, being an advocate for yourself, being an advocate for others is very important.
I was surprised too, this year, I was telling a story about my brother to one of the people that I work with, and later that day I get a text conversation that said, “My husband's going through the same.” They didn't want to mention it in the setting, but later I received that text.
And it was really heart-wrenching to say, “Oh my, I can't believe you're going through the same thing. How can I help?” And to point this person in the right direction on how they can get additional help and guidance for their husband, but that happens too often.
So, really, just being out there and talking to people. And I know it's a weird subject, but sometimes we got to talk about men's health and be weird about it because that's the only way we're going to get people to notice and stop and actually take control of their health.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, I know you said you're over 50 – how would you describe yourself as proactive about your health or reactive about your health?
Frank Lescas:
Honestly, I am very much reactive about my health and I should be more proactive. I am proactive about my prostate cancer though, and mainly because of the family history. My uncle will say, “Not me. I am not going to go the way my father did.”
I mean, I'm a big guy and so is my grandfather, and to see him suffer at the end will not be my fate. And so, I am definitely proactive about that and I try to, my wife and I are pretty healthy when it comes to eating.
We try to stay very, very much on the front end of good nutrition, and working out and walking. I think walking is the most underrated, best exercise ever. So, we do a lot of walking and try to stay in as best shape as we can.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
I know you said you're reactive, but proactive about prostate cancer – did any of you and your family ever get genetic testing to see if you were BRCA gene carriers?
Frank Lescas:
No. Great question, but no. And I actually asked my brother, did he get the genetic test? Because I was curious to find out what marker he had. I have not received a response from him yet, but I don't think he did, and I think it’s a miss.
I think it's a miss because my understanding, at least this is what I've talked to a lot of urologists and been in the industry a long time as we've discussed – a lot of physicians wait, they wait until maybe the second recurrence and they're like, “Okay, well let's see now if they're BRCA expressing.” Why didn't you find that in the beginning?”
I'm sure that at some point the tumor can change its makeup, but if I knew early on that this patient had high-risk markers like BRCA or others, then that would make me more alert throughout their early treatment to say, “I got to keep an eye on this patient.”
There's going to be some challenges downstream, but I at least know that going into it. I would love to know that upfront. So, that would definitely be something if I were diagnosed, I would definitely get the genetic testing as well.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
And especially since you still have your uncle, he's around, so people shouldn't take their genetic history to their graves. And I really believe that if you're alive, one of the services you can provide for your family is your genetic history, particularly BRCA gene positivity, because you mentioned that you have three daughters and there's a risk then of breast cancer that could be transmitted if you're a BRCA gene carrier.
And so, that'd be very important for your daughters to know as far as whether they should be screened or how they should be followed throughout their lives as they grow up. So, I think that people undervalue the information that we can glean from our
own genetics and other testing that can be done that's not invasive, that can actually maybe change somebody's life.
Frank Lescas:
Additionally, to that, I would say, we didn't know much about the BRCA gene, say 20 years ago. I'm trying to think when the first PARP inhibitor came out. It was probably like early 2012 or so. So, prior to that, I mean, we knew it from a scientific standpoint, but what about the rest of the panel that we don't know much about?
We may be developing treatments for at this point, but we might not know that for another 15 years. And if we had understood and know our history and know our genetic makeup, perhaps when it comes time for that treatment, it will have emerged at that point, and we'll have something that is relevant for us.
So, I think it's important. We go back and look in other disease states where they were capturing the genetic codes way back, and all of a sudden, now we have opportunities for those patients to be treated. I think it can go a long way.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
When I asked you a question, you talked about your brother being your hero. Tell me why he's your hero.
Frank Lescas:
This is a guy that … he's a contractor, so he's hustled his entire life, and the housing market ebbs and flows, and he has to survive in those ebbs and flows as well. And to see him virtually reinvent himself and take the punches and come back swinging and keep building his empire, and I find that that is so admirable.
Like a lot of us work in jobs where it's fairly steady. I think you can always guarantee an income, but there's a paycheck coming at the end of the week or every other week, that's not necessarily his life. And so, he's constantly focused on the next opportunity.
And to see him in his mid-sixties, loving what he does and still hustling every day, still playing golf four days a week and doing it at the same time, I find that to be really admirable, and I always look up to him. And he’s a big brother and I feel like he always has his family in top of mind and in front of his heart, and I always want to be like him.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Well, everybody's lucky to have a big brother that they love. Tell me about your swimming history.
Frank Lescas:
We could spend an hour on this conversation alone. However, I was fortunate enough, I have a dual citizenship with Albania because my grandparents all emigrated to America in the immigrant way following World War I.
And because I have a dual citizenship, I was fortunate enough to represent Albania in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona in swimming, and swam three events at that Olympics, which was the most amazing experience ever.
It really takes a long time to reveal all the things that happened in this several months during pre-Olympics, at the Olympics, and then post, and the feelings that went into it. The very positive thing walking into opening ceremonies, as you can imagine, is one of those experiences that cannot be replicated, the feelings, the sounds, the sights, it was unbelievable.
And if you recall, that was the year that they lit the torch with the bow and arrow, and I was standing about 15 feet from that taking place, and to not know what was happening. And next thing you know, this guy walks out with a bow and arrow and blazed the torch. I mean, the place was so electric, it was so amazing. What an amazing experience that was.
I swam really well, if you care to know. I actually held the Albanian swimming records for the 50 free, a 100 free and a 100 breaststroke until 2008. So, for 16 years, I held the national records, and then a young gentleman ended up breaking those.
It's still today very emotional when I see the Albanian team walk out into the opening ceremonies because prior to 1992, because of the communist regime that iron curtain countries that Albania was part of, they didn't compete in the Olympics.
Many countries in the Eastern Bloc didn't compete in the Olympics, and the makeup of the countries were entirely different 40 years ago, 50 years ago. And so, this was the first time they had competed ever in the Summer Olympics.
And so, to be part of that team, and it was a team of eight. So, to be part of that team was pretty amazing, and to live that dream was pretty amazing. I swam in college, so I just didn't come off the street. I swam at La Salle University, at division one program in Philadelphia, and then ended up finding my way to the Olympics. So, it was an amazing journey.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Oh, you should be so proud because achieving a position in the Olympics is I think the pinnacle of sports and accomplishments. My first urology partner was Canadian, and as I was interviewing him, I said, “So, what do you do?” He says, “Well, I like to row and I went to school in Boston,” so I said, “Well, send me your CV when you get home.” So, he sends me a CV, he rode for Team Canada in the 1984 LA Games.
Frank Lescas:
That's amazing.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
So, I called him up, I said, “I like to bike, but I'm not Greg LeMond.” I said, “Unbelievable. What a great story.” And so, when he started to share with me his history, and even to this day, he still rows and competes on the Charles River in Boston.
And it's just I love to see not only the passion, but to see the drive and there's something unique about Olympians that is different than any other persona. The challenge, the excitement of competition, it's not something you live for, you need it.
I love your quote, your favorite quote: “Win without boasting and lose without excuse.” I think that epitomizes that. What made you choose that?
Frank Lescas:
I think there's a lot of chest-pumping in sports today: “Oh, I made a great tackle in football,” and you see the players pump their chest like it was all me. You know, that's your job. My job is to win. My job is to compete and be excellent, and if I'm not excellent or if I fail at the task, there's no excuse for that.
So, I don't like the Cowboys, but Emmitt Smith epitomizes this, when he used to score a touchdown and he'd just hand the ball to the ref. That was it. That was my job. I did the touchdown. He's probably one of the best running backs in the history of the NFL.
That kind of epitomizes the thought. I'm doing my excellent work. I'm going to strive for excellence. And if I don't achieve excellence, there's no excuse for that, and you just have to keep pushing harder.
And to put it back into the swimming terms – if anybody swam, I mean, you train quite a bit in the pool. Even for a sprint race, I would still do a lot of swimming just for 50 yards or 50 meters in the pool.
You push yourself through those times when you want to quit, you have to. That's the only way you get better. And so, challenge swimming through the practices. So in other words, race your neighbor, always be pushing, don't take a lap off. That's how you get better.
If you watch guys like Michael Phelps and look at his training regimen, it's unbelievable and there was no excuse for losing. He has to win. If he doesn't, it's back in the pool and we're going back to work because we have to win.
And so, that's kind of the mindset I had, and I never wanted to be the guy to pump my chest. I'm a little more humble when it comes to that. And for me, it's more about just striving for excellence and always keeping that in the forefront of my mind.
Dr. Michael Lutz:
Life moves on, we all want to create our legacies. And my last question to you is, how do you want to be remembered?
Frank Lescas:
We all want to be remembered as making a difference and we all don't make major differences in people's lives, but even subtly, I feel like if people look back and say, “Well, Frank helped contribute to my overall enjoyment of life in some way,” whether I told a joke, because I think I'm funny.
But I do tell a lot of jokes in work. I try to keep the stress level down and the excitement and the fun level high because I believe that we're too short on this earth for negativity. So, try to keep things positive and fun.
If I made somebody laugh, if I made them have a great day, that's what I hope is my legacy, they remember me for that. They also remember that I cared, and I really do. And even the stranger that I meet on the street that I'm trying to get them to get their PSA checked or just somebody I met at a bar over a cocktail, like I'm there to have fun and make them feel good. That's what I hope people remember me for.
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Dr. Michael Lutz:
That's great. Well, I'd like to thank you. I'd like to thank Frank Lescas for being here today for this great conversation, and also, I'd like to thank you for joining us. I'm Dr. Michael Lutz, urologist and founder of the MIU Men's Health Foundation.
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