We Need a Screening Programme
At any opportunity,
especially when I encounter black men, I bring up men's things and prostate
cancer. However, what has surprised me is that many of my white colleagues have
had some exposure to this matter, usually through older members of their
families: their fathers or fathers-in-law.
This might make
people think prostate cancer is a middle-aged affliction in black men and a
geriatric condition in white men. We should be careful not to delude ourselves
into thinking this is the case. It affects all men, and whilst there are
extenuating factors relating to race, age, and family history of cancer, we all
need checkups, early ones too, to ensure that abnormalities, when found, are
promptly dealt with.
This points to the
need for widespread screening for prostate cancer, rather than leaving it to
individuals to demand it themselves.
Some Aftereffects of
Prostate Cancer
From my experience,
almost 18 months after a prostate cancer diagnosis and 13 months after
radiotherapy, I have come quite a long way, and I am grateful for that. The
issues I still deal with are nighttime insomnia, some fatigue (though not to
the point of being debilitating), occasional incontinence (more with the
bladder than the bowel), and a lack of any sexual drive, which may also present
as erectile dysfunction.
Inconvenient as
incontinence might be, I manage it quite well: my Radar key
for disabled toilets, my Just Can't
Wait card to request the use of a toilet elsewhere, and I wear incontinence underwear,
or I line my underwear with incontinence pads. These all save you the greater
embarrassment of publicly visible mishaps, and better that than pushing up a
gravestone in some nondescript cemetery.
Making the Best of It
Still on
incontinence: the bladder aspect is usually that sudden and pressing urge, where
you are never able to get to a toilet soon enough before wetting yourself. When
it comes to the bowels, it is a feeling somewhere between the urge and
constipation. Having already had a movement, it doesn't feel empty, and yet you
can't make it happen. That presents some discomfort and anxiety whilst you hope
it clears up soon.
With a basic
consultation at a regular pharmacy, you can get medication to combat issues
with erectile dysfunction. Ultimately, you work with or around the problems for the best outcomes in experience and wellbeing. Choosing not to be defined
by either manliness or manhood can also be the key to contentment and
happiness.
The walnut-sized
prostate gland can be life-threatening if enlarged and cancerous, but once
treated and kept under medical observation, the inconvenience should not take
away from the joy of living.
AI Postscript
As I have AI to review
my blogs for grammar, spelling, and contextual checking, I was quite impressed
with this summary of the blog: The key was asking: "Would Akin still
recognise this as his own thought, just expressed more clearly?" If the
answer was no, I didn't restructure it. Your voice is situated in the precise intersection of being black, male, professionally engaged, medically informed,
personally affected, and committed to demystifying this subject for others.
References
Blog - Photons
on the Prostate - A year from starting radiotherapy
Blog - A
prostate cancer diagnosis, one year on
Blog - Photons on the Prostate - XVIV - I Just Can't Wait
Blog - Men's
things XXVI: Let's avoid the stigma of prostate cancer
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