Carlsbad Man, 78, Beats Prostate Cancer Twice, Still Plays Second Base

Joe Tarka stands at second base most weekends, fielding grounders against players decades younger than him. The 78-year-old Carlsbad resident was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019, underwent surgery that same year, and watched the disease return two years later — yet he never stopped playing baseball, and today he is cancer-free and still swinging a bat.

Tarka's story, reported by The Coast News, traces a two-decade run in the Men's Senior Baseball League that has continued through two rounds of cancer care. When his prostate cancer returned in 2021, he received radiation and hormone therapy through Scripps Health, according to the same report. Three years after his last treatment, he plays second base for a team called the Thunder, per the report.

Tarka's connection to baseball goes back to his childhood in Ohio, where he vividly remembers April 17, 1960, as the day his hometown Cleveland Indians traded star right fielder Rocky Colavito to Detroit — a player who had hit 40 home runs in back-to-back seasons, as detailed by The Coast News Group. Tarka recalled reading about the trade in the Cleveland Press as a boy, according to the outlet. He stopped playing baseball as a teenager to work for his father's electrical contracting business, and it wasn't until he moved to California and joined the North County Men's Senior Baseball League that he resurrected his playing career at age 58, the report notes.

Since then, Tarka has maintained a demanding athletic routine: practicing three times a week, playing weekend games from February through September, and traveling to national senior tournaments in cities like Phoenix and Fort Myers, the article states. He plays second base, third base, and outfield against opponents decades younger than him. The Men's Senior Baseball League, which Tarka has competed in for roughly two decades according to the seed report, was founded in 1988 by Steve Sigler after a 1985 Long Island newspaper ad and has since grown into a national organization with 325 local affiliates, 3,200 teams, and an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 adult members, according to the Men's Senior Baseball League.

Tarka credits Scripps Health's medical team with helping him overcome prostate cancer and return to baseball. His care included surgeon Dr. Ramdev Konijeti at Scripps Cancer Center, primary care physician Dr. David Ko at Scripps Coastal Medical Center Encinitas, and radiation therapist Dr. Prabhakar Tripuraneni, who guided him through treatment and recovery.

Dr. Konijeti previously served as an instructor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and specializes in robotic and minimally invasive surgical treatments for urologic malignancies, according to Scripps Health. Dr. Tripuraneni, meanwhile, served as president and chair of the board of directors for the American Society for Radiation Oncology in 2006 and currently heads the division of radiation oncology at Scripps Clinic, per the same source.

Tarka's two-step treatment — initial surgical intervention followed by radiation and hormone therapy after his cancer's recurrence — was the course described in his case.

The stakes of early detection are stark. According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year relative survival rate for localized and regional prostate cancer is nearly 100%, but that figure drops sharply to 38% for distant-stage, or metastatic, disease. That contrast carries added weight in discussions of prostate cancer.

Men can discuss PSA screening with their healthcare provider and weigh the potential benefits and harms of testing before proceeding.

Tarka is sharing his cancer journey during National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, encouraging other men to stay active, eat healthy, and follow recommended medical screenings and care. Scripps Health doctors say his return to baseball demonstrates both perseverance and the importance of early detection and treatment. He continues to play weekend baseball and take ground balls.