Richard
Bercuson and L live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada . He was 53 when he was diagnosed
July 2005. His initial PSA was 6.06 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and he was
staged T2a . His choice of treatment was radical prostatectomy. Here is his story.
Much of what I experienced is described in peculiar and irreverent detail
in my book "Assume the position: one guy's journey through prostate cancer."
It's available through my website
(all proceeds go to Prostate Cancer Association Ottawa).
The first reaction
upon hearing you have cancer is, "Egad." This is followed by a string of much
worse words. But it's not like my car's fuel pump sprung a leak and can be easily
repaired. I've learned medicine is an inexact science, that I had to place my
complete trust in perfect strangers whom I considered nerds while I was out playing
road hockey. Now these people were going to stick their mitts in my gut to save
me.
I survived the surgery and was lucky - no further treatments and minimal
long term side effects. I don't know if that's the norm; all I know is that had
my family doctor not had my PSA tracked for a few years, this might not have been
discovered. I could be dead. Or worse.
Prostate cancer, I've also discovered,
can be treated if men would learn to emote rather than be remote. I understand
that these days it's acceptable for men to tear up. Finally. But I guess it depends
a lot on the answer to this question: what's your life worth to you or anyone
else?
Richard's e-mail address is: assumetheposition@richardbercuson.ca
