Really! Prostate Cancer?
Oh bollocks, didn't see that one coming!
Welcome and a quick heads up, I am no published writer…what I am is a father to four, step-father to one, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend and foe (to some) and someone that at the age of 46 got told he had stage 3 prostate cancer. WTF!
Like many, I always thought that cancer was a battle that affected others and it was a shitty day when I got sat down by the Doc and told that there was this lump of cancer fast escaping from my prostate. What does a prostate actually do anyway, surely it is in the same club as one’s appendices? Apparently not, it is quite needed for a man, especially if like me you want to help over populate the world…but more on that at a later date.
So, I make the guess that you have landed on this page as you are doing the same as my wife and I did with hitting the internet directly after diagnosis to try and understand what the fuck the future is going to hold. You have probably also found loads of practical resources from the likes of Prostate Cancer Research or Prostate Cancer UK and these are amazing, but what we also quickly discovered was that every cancer journey is unique to the individual, and this is something that I have reminded myself everyday since this particular penny dropped.
My learning: Keep reminding yourself, there are a lot of negative stories published on the world wide web. Like my journey, yours will be yours!
OK, if you have made it this far down you must be wandering why the hell I am dedicating the next few weeks documenting down my journey and sharing some quite personal details of this section of my life? Honest answer….it is because I could not find anything that was sharing the real side of this prostate cancer hell ride and during the period of diagnosis to first treatment I was literally scared shitless! (still am if I am being really honest). I am in hope that by sharing my experience it will help lighten the load, even if just a little, for you or your loved one.
So hit that subscribe button, sit back and take comfort in knowing that you are not the only one that has had the pleasure in meeting a medical professional with a pair of blue rubber gloves and tube of lube!
Ready for more…head on over to my next post “The PSA test will be fine, I am only 46!”
If you need more support then there are some great charities ready to help:
United Kingdom: https://prostatecanceruk.org
United States: https://www.pcf.org