Sharing my prostate cancer story
Within the last
fortnight, I attended a gathering of black men in Manchester and Liverpool, where
I was invited to tell my story about my experience with prostate cancer.
The story on its own
could be compelling, as I do have friends and acquaintances, even strangers
asking for advice and direction about how to navigate these issues, that I term, "Men’s things".
However, in such a
semi-formal setting under the auspices of a registered charity, I felt it
should not be a typical story-telling setting, but one where whoever listened learnt
something and could act on it.
What the prostate
gland does
To that end, I
created slides with some images, because in all previous presentations I have
attended on the topic of prostate cancer, the issue of the function of the
prostate gland as a muscular switch between urination and ejaculation was not
clear. For instance, I learnt this long after I had commenced radiotherapy
treatment for prostate cancer.
Secondly, I had only
found one image that gave a close-up view of how an enlarged prostate gland can
present symptoms of difficulty or discomfort with the ease of urination. That
visual image alone seemed to get men thinking about having checks on their
prostate health.
 |
| Courtesy of NHS Overview of Benign Prostate Enlargement |
Your active
participation in your health, matters
On this perspective,
I wove a story around my curiosity about some unusual blood test results
outside normal ranges, through insistence to my GP for tests, the referral for
further investigation, leading to a cancer diagnosis, then the treatment of
prostate cancer, and the post-treatment side effects.
Beyond that is the
need for black men to participate in surveys, especially when invited for bowel cancer
screening, why men’s things should be more widely and openly discussed, and
how early detection saves lives.
What I hoped men
would take away from my presentation was that, “All prostate issues are not
indicative of cancer, but every prostate enlargement should be investigated for
cause and possible treatment.”
My presentation
slides
Blog - Men's
things - Prostate Cancer blogs
Blog - Photons on the Prostate - XIII
References
MedScape:
International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) Calculator
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