While Bill Wichrowski says he is being ‘aggressively treated’ for his specific case, it is also important to know that active surveillance is becoming more common for slower-growing tumors

Facing a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

67-year-old Bill Wichrowski, aka Captain Wild Bill from the long-running reality series Deadliest Catch, announced in an emotional new trailer for Season 20 that he is going through “aggressive treatment” for prostate cancer.
The disease, which is the most common cancer for males in the United States, typically affects 1 in 8 men during their lifetime.
Though it is unclear what Wichrowski’s specific medical plan is at this time, it can be comforting to know that not all men who are diagnosed are having to undergo treatment. In recent years, treatment protocol for prostate cancer has been changing, with a “watch-and-wait” tactic called active surveillance for low-risk disease.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines divides prostate cancer into one of six risk categories based on how aggressive the cancer looks under the microscope and the chance of it coming back after treatment. These risk categories help guide treatment for the different subtypes of prostate cancers.
As far as general screening, consult your physician to discuss what may be best for your health situation, and don’t delay getting checked if you are experiencing symptoms such as pain or burning when you urinate or blood in your urine. Most prostate cancers are slow-growing and outcomes are more favorable the earlier you take control of your health.
67-year-old Bill Wichrowski, aka Captain Wild Bill from the long-running reality series Deadliest Catch, announced in an emotional new trailer for Season 20 that he is going through “aggressive treatment” for prostate cancer. The disease, which is the most common cancer for males in the United States, typically affects 1 in 8 men during their lifetime.
Known for battling the Bering Sea, the crab fisherman is now documenting his personal health journey along with his open water adventures.

“When I heard it,” the navy veteran began of learning his diagnosis, “one of the things I thought was that I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep going until I actually can’t.”

In the Discovery teaser for the June 11 premiere, Wichrowski, who joined the series in its sixth season, also addressed the widely-known issue of males not always wanting to face their health issues, he said: “How many people get diagnosed with this and just crawl into a shell? And it just makes it worse.”

Wichrowski wants to help change that, and by allowing cameras to show him meeting with doctors, undergoing treatment and then hopping on a boat, he documents that it is possible to keep on working and doing what you love while combatting this disease.

Cancer couldn’t conquer Bill’s spirit, or stop him from fearlessly taking on the Bering Sea ,” the TV show’s page captioned the Instagram post.

“I wasn’t going to stop unless I had to,” Wichrowski stated further in the clip.

“You have a great attitude! You’ve got this Captain Bill! Sending healing thoughts your way!” one fan wrote in the comments, while another follower expressed similar sentiment: “God bless you Captain Bill  keep up the good fight   you got this  .”

A third person shared that his cancer “has no idea what captain he’s messing with.”

Though he can easily be viewed as intimidating on screen, the Pennsylvania-born naval engineer lists the code he lives by as “hard work and honesty” on his personal website.

Two years after achieving small screen fame, the crew leader recruited his son Zack Larson to join the show in 2012.

After living in Alaska for 20 years and doing sportfishing tours out of Costa Rica, Wichrowski, who also has a son names Jake and daughter Delia, now lives in San Carlos, Mexico on his off seasons.

A Groundbreaking Study on Treatment Approach for Prostate Cancer
Though it is unclear what Wichrowski’s specific medical plan is at this time, it can be comforting to know that not all men are having to undergo treatment.

In recent years, treatment protocol for prostate cancer has been changing, and while a “watch-and-wait” tactic called active surveillance was initially met with some controversy by the medical community, a new groundbreaking 10-year study‘s findings reveal there is no significant difference between using a “watch-and-wait” approach to monitor a tumor vs. undergoing treatment in low-risk cases.