Travel Guru Rick Steves Recalls Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

The 70-year-old best-selling author had the organ removed to eliminate the cancer

Andre Ellington,

AARP

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Published September 24, 2025

Rick Steves chose to have surgery to remove his prostate cancer.

Courtesy Rick Steves

Travel guru Rick Steves, 70, is recalling his shock at being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2024. He said he felt “great” at the time, but testing showed a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test level of 55.

The PSA test measures a protein in the blood that can indicate prostate cancer, one of the most common types of the disease.

“[My doctor] called me ... and said, ‘You’ve got a serious problem. You’ve got a PSA of 55 and you’ve got prostate cancer,’ ” Steves said in a recent interview with Today.com. “It was all hands on deck to change over to: How are we going to address that prostate?”

The New York Times best-selling author and TV personality said he was “feeling so good” before the diagnosis.

“Sixty-nine years old, looking at 70, feeling great,” Steves said. “We were talking about wellness and diet and exercise and how to enjoy the next years and be really healthy.”

To fight the cancer, he had a prostatectomy in September 2024, a surgery that removes the prostate gland.

“I just hoped and prayed it was contained in my prostate with a good margin,” Steves said. “Psychologically, I felt like: I got to get this prostate out of my body. And that was what my surgeon recommended also.”

Three months after the removal, Steves said, he was “just fine.” He had another PSA test, and his level was 0.09, then went to 0.03. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the normal range for a person in his 60s, as Steves was at the time, is between 1.0 and 1.5, and a score greater than 4 is considered abnormal.

“The doctor said, You can consider yourself cancer-free,” he said. “That’s the good news.”

Steves credits his care team and “medical research” for enabling him to maintain a fulfilling life after his health scare.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the U.S., just behind skin cancer, and affects 1 in 8 men during their lifetime.

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Prostate cancer warning signs include urination problems, blood in the urine, pain or discomfort when you urinate or sit, erectile dysfunction and painful ejaculations.

Treatment options include prostate removal and radiation therapy, among other therapies.

The American Cancer Society recommends PSA tests starting at age 50 for men who are at average risk for prostate cancer and are expected to live for at least 10 more years.

Men who are 45 and African American, or those who have a first-degree family member who had prostate cancer before turning 65, should also get tested.

When Steves talked to AARP earlier this year, he described his prostate cancer battle, saying it was “like a journey.”

“It’s just a trip I didn’t want to sign up for, and I don’t know the language, and I don’t know exactly where it’s going,” he said. “But I’m learning a lot, and I’m very hopeful.”

He added, “I had the robotic prostate surgery several months ago, and the surgery went well.”

In sharing his diagnosis, he realized that many people are a little bit “secretive or embarrassed about their cancer,” but he still did it because of the communal impact it would have.

“It’s really healthy for people to be able to let their loved ones and their community know what they’re going through,” he said. “And when you do share it, you realize, Man, I’m not alone.”

AARP provides information on prostate cancer, including Medicare coverage for screenings and specific advice on obtaining a PSA test.

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