Laugh, and your Prostate Laughs....
The reflections in journal form of the challenges and successes in preparing and completing a 9-week radiation treatment on my prostate gland--and looking at life at 70. A chronicle of the obstacles and overcoming them as I completed my daily dose of The Machine and laser therapy. How I wrestled and overcame finances, personal health, transportation, diet, sleep, exercise, and throughout it all, LAUGHING with thanks and gratitude for the family, friends, social networks, and other supports I had. Being GRATEFUL for my faith and values that made me appreciate the simplest things in life and why they mattered.
Preface
This is a journal book for men because we, regretfully, don’t like to hear bad news about our bodies. In particular, the words that can totally blank out our sense of safety, security, and worst of all, identity as a male: “You have prostate cancer.” So perhaps by reading this journal, as I recall what my experience has been like since I was diagnosed seven years ago at age 63 and leading up to a nine-week stint of 5-times-a-week radiation procedures, you may find some answers, choices, and understanding of options and decisions.
Please note that there is no single or definitive set of measures of action to take: every man is an individual unto his own body’s needs, including medical conditions, age, and heredity.
What I will do: share the insights; the actions; the choices; the memories of what I think you should know about your own experiences that may come from news like this. Or maybe it’s support for that special someone in your life. Or, yours, in theirs.
What I won’t do here: give you a list of all the modalities and therapy treatments available. That’s both too clinical and technical for me, but where important, I did list some generic and other names, accordingly. Besides, that’s not why I wrote this. It is to give you a reminder to BE GRATEFUL for all that you have now in your life REGARDLESS of how upset or surprised you may be by the news that you have prostate cancer. (Or any cancer, for that matter; I’ve had several melanoma, too. But I’ll explain that later.)
And maybe—just maybe—I hope you will find some humor and laughter through your thoughts that makes you suddenly feel better about how you’re going to handle the news. And that you feel more in control, more confident, and maybe not as numb-shocked as when the urologist first told you this in their office. Laughter is really good medicine—all the neurotransmitter talk aside for the professionals.
And I hope you find something to laugh about in reliving my experiences to give you the support that this is far more than just my story. It’s the story of a lot of other men who don’t know where to turn, nor whom they can share because that’s not what men do. And this topic--prostate cancer—is something that just about every man on Earth will more than likely face because it’s part of aging. There’s still laughter in aging and growing older, but not when there’s the shock of a single word like ‘cancer.’
You have to make your own laughter when you start treatment: you need to find something to break the tension beforehand and certainly after it’s completed. I hope what I share will give some inspiration for what to look for; what to laugh for, and why it matters not only to you, but to others.
Especially those who love you. Even if you’re on your own—a complete solo entity—you are important to someone. Even your medical team—you’d be surprised how much they can bond with you. And your recovery is what you want more than anything—so make laughter part of your healing process. You’ll share it with others who need it—and that’s another part of why men need to talk about their awareness of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Again, I want to emphasize: you’re not alone in this experience. You have choices—and you have support from people who share the challenges and possible solutions, options, and outcomes. And there are those special people who love and care for you, and this is for them to read as well. To help give them ways to support you—and to find peace and purpose in their lives, too.
So, within this journal are some of the moments that stood out to me as I kept up my daily routines as well as extended projects, and throughout it all, how I found time to seek out a bit of laughter and humor in order to keep up my spirits and energy. I knew I mattered to others, and they are important to me in their individual ways: friends, family, loved ones, all in their own unique styles. But also the daily people with whom I interact in this dance of Life: students of mine, both present and former; colleagues and other professionals; skilled tradesmen and women who made me feel whole and complete, and sometimes, just a voice from a customer service representative who was helping me resolve or complete something significant. I found time and ways to make them a part of my experience by sharing what felt important, and also to make them laugh by doing so through my words and expressions.
It made a difference in how I found doors to open to facilitate the thought that I had to undergo prostate cancer treatment.
It
made me realize their value to me.
And that it was part of the reason to laugh: because it was validation that I
was capable of becoming a successful, healthy man again. I hope this book does
the same for you, and that you find the same abundance of humor and inspiration
with those who share your life and experience, too.
Sincerely, Mitchell
