Although I didn't know Wes personally, he spend time with me answering newby questions, and even some free advice on the phone. In Dallas, many know the Saturday Hangout at his shop. I don't know how long he's been in business but it wouldn't surprise me it someone said 20+ years. He is the classic old timer Porsche mechanic.

Last time I went by, there must have been a couple of 911's and about 6 914 in the door.


I heard he was in Hospice, and Ron stopped by his shop to find out the straight. He is in remission from Prostrate Cancer, and recently fell and broke a hip.
Now in rehab.
Ron or someone local to Plano can add more details here and possibly a photo or 2 of his shop.

I doubt he has email but it would be a nice gesture to mail a get well card or 2, with THANKS for all the work he's done for the local 914 community. I know it's a hassle to go get a stamp but....

Let's send him some Porsche Cheer!

H & H Enterprises
Wes Hildreth, Chief Mechanic and Porschefile
902 Ave K, Ste. 100B
Plano, TX 75074

I talked to a close friend today, and it's not as good as thought. Wes has stage 4 prostate cancer, and the broken hip is due to the cancer.

We all need to send good thoughts Wes' way. He's one of the good ones.

oh boy . the metastatic aspect does not bode well for him. my cousin, 62yo, is in the same situation. cancer is all over his skeletal system. skull, ribs, arms, legs...

wes is a great man. I haven't been by to see him in a few months, with a VERY pregnant wife and all...

last I saw him he was doing better, but it seems to have taken a turn... I'll see if I can't get more info.


he built my 2056, and it's still going in a daily driver in Missouri. he is a great guy.


a little history on him. he worked in a VW/Audi dealership in the 60s. he's been a porsche/VW/Audi/BMW mechanic for longer than most of us have been alive.

he used to tell me stories about brand new 914s coming into the VW shops to get add hp from the VW guys. I would sit and talk to him for hours, and he never minded.

I talked to a close friend who is near wes often... the prostate cancer metastasized to his leg. his femur also broke. and he is in rehab/hospice care... he is a tough old man.

I'm going by there this week to see him.

a few months ago I visited him in the hospital, and afterwards he was doing better. chemo was doing wonders, but about 6 weeks ago is when he fell.

I will post more when I can

Wes will be in our prayers.

Now, the admonition! Prostate (note the spelling) cancer is one of the most curable cancers, IF caught early. When you have your annual physical, the blood work includes a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test. Be SURE you have that done. If you don't routinely have an annual physical, change your life plan and DO IT. If you're insured, maybe even if you're one of the newly insured, many insurance plans give you a free wellness exam every year. Use it! If you're one of the uninsured, maybe you live in a state that it's difficult to get insurance, get an exam anyway! FYI, the cure rate is like 95% if caught early, and a big percentage of older men have, or will have, it. We don't want to lose you!

The Cap'n

with Wes, he did get regular checkups. less than a year before being diagnosed he had an exam, no problem found. (I'm not sure if they performed the PSA test at that time, or the 'traditional' method only.

then less than a year later, (this past December IIRC) he started losing weight and feeling very ill... he went to the Dr and was diagnosed with stage 4... it was very fast moving and aggressive. they performed a surgery and started chemo, and he was in remission within a couple months... that was the last time I saw him...

The doctor told us all then that it was rare for Prostate cancer to be this aggressive, but it does happen.


I'm with Krusty though. get checked yearly over the age of 40! 35 if you have a family history of it!

EXACTLY john. don't listen to the BS in the media reports about how the PSA test is a waste of time and money. its another diagnostic tool. high PSA and incomplete evacuation of the bladder (peeing all of the time and urgently) can be indicators of BPH. very treatable with 2 generic drugs.

visited Wes the other day.

his spirits are good, the tough old bird is liable to outlive us all ;P

he looked ok. his physical therapy has been rough. both his femur and part of his hip had to be reconstructed and reinforced with titanium.

he seemed very optimistic.

but all that said. it's still not 'good'. Keep Wes and his familyin your thoughts and prayers... they have some rough times still to come.

Damn my thoughts & prayers are with him along with his family! It's tough on everyone but sounds like he is a fighter. Kick cancer's ass WES

I heard from Wes' son today. Wes has gone downhill, and is unresponsive. He has fluid in his lungs and is having trouble breathing. He is now in 24 hour constant care.

Thoughts and prayers from the 914 community are appreciated.

Sending good thoughts and prayers.

In my heart I think that there is a road for each of us. I see these messages about good people I never got the chance to meet. I also see new people coming in with the excitement of the first time. May Wes move along that road with a bit of tire chirp, and a oneness with the machine and all who loved him. I wish there was something good to say.

The PSA is a tool, but there will be better ones coming. Keep an eye peeled. We ain't any of us getting younger.

A prayer sent for Wes and another for his family. God's comfort for them all.

Gentlemen,
RIP Wes Hildreth. Earlier this evening, Our community lost a man of character, honesty and integrity. When his wife of almost 5 decades died a few years ago, part of Wes died then as well. Now they are together again.
His knowledge of air-cooled Porsches and VW's was remarkable and that experience will be missed by all. Please pray for his son, Jay and daughter, Jeanine. No notice for services.
old914dog
mike floyd

Thanks mike

RIP

Damn. Be at peace, Wes.

Prayers for his family. RIP Wes.

RIP my good man.

RIP

Amen

My boss just went thru this. Early 50s. Diagnosis. Chemo. Remission. Spread to hip. Surgery. Death. I've heard of false positives with PSA. I can deal with that. How about false negative? Does that happen too?

the psa test is part of the equation. an indicator. throw in BPH and you need to act prudently and promptly. thing is, most men get all embarrassed with the digit exam. so they shine it on. shine it on too long and a doctor feeling your prostate with his or her finger will be the least of your problems and as least invasive as the process will get. i won't even get into the $ for the numerous procedures and tests. if mike was going to do the manipulation i'd ask for a pretty, young, female resident instead.

This sucks for sure.

Some clarifications:
PSA is no longer, and has not been for a while, considered a good screen for prostate cancer as there is no limit of things that can raise it causing false positives. It is used to track treatment once cancer has been identified.

Most prostate cancer is very treatable and very slow to grow. There are some that move quick and seem to take you by surprise.

Prostate cancer grows from the outside in. So, the digital rectal exam (DRE) is a great test once symptoms are noted. Recent guidelines have changed regarding the use of DREs every year from 50yo on. They found that there was no appreciable increase in detection nor a decrease in mortality. Thus, the test is useless, uncomfortable, and actually keep guys away from the doc which is a negative effect. The college of Urologist argue against this and still insist on doing DREs as screening tools, but they also get to bill much better than PCPs for the service. So, derive from that what you will.

So, how do you know if you might have prostate cancer?
- Difficulty stopping or starting urine stream
- Feeling of fullness in the groin, particularly behind your junk.

When you have symptoms is when you should talk to your doc and have you butt poked. Dont hesitate. We hate it, you hate it, but when it is necessary it is necessary and can save your life.

More info, to counteract the incorrect/incomplete info above:

BPH is more likely than prostate cancer and is not a life threatening disease. It is a nuisance. It happens when your prostate completely swells (or at least not just the outside as is seen with prostate cancer). It is easily treated and you need a DRE to rule out the cancer and rule in the BPH.

We have lost so many good folks this month already At least we were enriched knowing them.

quite a few over the last 10 years when you think about it. rip wes.

Again, I'm ok with false positives. It's a basis for further inquiry. But, if your PSA is low, is prostate cancer ruled out?

perhaps a prostate thread in the sandbox would be more appropriate. i know i went ot too.

Actually, false positives are a crappy thing. They mean more money and testing and stress. Any test with a high false positive is not very good. As for false negatives, yes these can happen, too. They are less frequent, but that is why the PSA is a post diagnostic/treatment tool. Symptoms + positive DRE = further investigation. No PSA in that initial equation. Pretty simple. Many old docs that are not up to date on the current research will still do PSA, DRE, etc...

was 5.02. now just over 1 iirc. 2 meds.

Probably best for the sandbox, but who has more prostates than this group? It seems that PSA is best at determining how effective surgery or radiation has been. Once you know you have it the source of the PSA is nailed down better. A more important test is determining whether you have the cancer that grows and metastasizes quickly or the type my grandfather had that couldn't grow fast enough to kill him. Genome-wide screens show promise in this arena, but some are reluctant to get the news. Some docs don't want to do that sort of test either, for reasons that elude me. I am not a physician, more of a gene jock.
I worry about my two boys though. In a family of 10 sons that included their maternal grandfather all 10 ended up with prostate cancer. All my ancestors died of heart disease (probably with PBH).

So also keep taking those antihypertensives even though they don't seem to do anything, and know where the fire extinguisher is, etc. I still want to meet you.

Thoughts and prayers to him, his family, and those who knew him. RIP.

I lost my Father to this, guys get checked

Gene screening is expensive and has not shown that the number needed to treat has been low enough yet to justify the expense. That is why it is not just done.

BTW, every man gets prostate cancer if he lives long enough. Fact. The prevalence of prostate cancer in ~80yo is something like 90% and in the older group it gets close to 100%. We will all get it if we are lucky enough to live that long. Find it and treat it and you get some more years of peace.

If anyone feels that using the tragic passing of Wes as an in to talk about what killed him and how to go about preventing/screening/treating it, please do speak up and I would not balk at being told not to post any more about this here. If it were me that died of this, I would want this, though. I feel, in my own way, it is how I truly honor the memory of Wes.

RIP Wes you will be missed

Dr Evil, thanks for your up to date information

I wanted to tell a bit about what Wes meant to me... When I first got a 914, Wes was the person I found before even finding the forums. Joe yoder stopped me trying to find brake parts at Midas and told me about Wes.... He reminded me of my grandfather, also a vet. I would bend Wes' ear at times, or just stop by the shop and hang out... Usually eating chicken.. But I was doing the work at home... Later my job changed and I had more money, less time and less patience... So it took my car to Wes to help get it back on the road... He took me in like he'd known me forever.. I paid him to work on the engine, of course, but he let me use his lift, tools and shop all the time... I'd bead-blast parts and paint them or rebuild Alfa calipers... He didn't care... We'd hang out, smoke cigars and shoot the shit, too, of course...

Bottom line... I'll remember him, and all the times we had, and all the other friends I met through Wes... He was a good man.

This is very sad. A great man. He's helped me wth my car since the early 80's. Any word on services? I just checked the internet and couldn't find anything.

I have not heard anything, but I'm also wondering if that is by design... I would understand completely if the family wanted to keep it a small affair.. instead of having the motley cast of characters that hung out with Wes every saturday

I understand that the family might want to keep a service, if any, private. But it might still be appropriate if a group of DFW teeners and other air-cooled cars got together on their own to celebrate what Wes did for the local community. Even if it was a group drive by the shop without stopping - just a tribute.

The funeral is Sept. 6th in Plano. I'll add more info when I have it.

Y'all are some of the nicest people I "know".

Just sayin'

I also lost my father at a young age to prostate cancer, so I have been proactive in testing.

I was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer at the age of 48 with a PSA of 6.5 and 3 out of 12 biopsies showing cancer. Since then I have had PSA tests and a biopsy every 6 months. I am now 52 and it has not progressed at all. I sent out my last biopsy for the Genome testing and it came back that it is "slow growing".

What does this mean???? No one knows and there is no set rule.

I guess it is luck of the draw because my brother in law was just diagnosed with stage 4 at the age of 56.

My thoughts and prayers to Wes and his family!

RIP Wes. I met him back in the early 2000's. I'd stop by the shop every once in a few years. Incredible wealth of knowledge that we've lost. Irreplaceable, really. But as good as he was as a mechanic, he was even better as a person. Just a good soul. He was never without a chuckle or a cigar.

For all those interested, there will be a memorial service @ the South Pavilion of Bob Woodruff Park ( 2601 San Gabriel Drive) in Plano from 3:00 to park closing on the 6th.

This will be a come and go potluck, with Tea and Brisket provided. Bring a covered dish if you can, dress is casual.

Those who have stage 4, did they all ignore symptoms, or was the diagnosis out-of-the-blue? I had some odd symptoms recently. Man did I dread going to the doc. Conversation began "well, I guess I'm at the age where you get to have embarrasing problems". Turned out to be bladder infection. My doc said false negative PSAs do not happen and that prostate cancer always grows slowly.

Sending good thoughts

R.I.P.

RIP although I never met him he did post on the early 914 boards "back in the day" when we first shared info on the 914's and their problems on the digisite.