If my fellow police officer and friend hadn’t asked me to come down to the MAN VAN® to help at a media event a few years back, I might not be here to tell my story.
I was 42. Like most guys my age, I figured I was far too young to worry about prostate cancer. But when I got tested, my PSA came back at 2.7, high for my age range. I was put on active surveillance and carried on with life. A few years later, a blood test showed higher levels, and that’s when I was referred to a urologist. The next step was a biopsy.
I’ll never forget sitting in that waiting room at the Prostate Cancer Centre. There was a volunteer greeting everyone, chatting with the older men around me, but he didn’t even glance my way. I assumed he thought I was someone’s son. At my age, I didn’t look like the one who should be there for a biopsy.
When the doctor finally called with my results, I remember exactly where I was – just off Edmonton Trail and 25th Avenue, doing surveillance for work. He said, “You have cancer. Ten of your twelve biopsies came back positive. We’re going to have to do something about it.”
As a police officer, I’m trained to manage high-stress situations. We see terrible things every day, and I think that helped me bounce between logic and fear. Still, when you hear those words “you have cancer” everything stops. My thoughts went straight to my family: my wife, and especially my four-year-old daughter. It wasn’t about my own mortality; it was about them.
I had surgery, and thankfully, recovery went fairly smoothly. I was up and moving right away – uncomfortable, sure, but not in pain. What no one really prepares you for are the things that come after. At first, I had to learn how to pee again. I was up eight to ten times a night because my muscles were weak. I started doing kegels, which I’d always thought were just for women! And like so many men after prostate surgery, I dealt with erectile dysfunction.
These things are hard to talk about. They affect your confidence, your sense of manhood, and your mental health. They also affect your partner. But being open about it matters, because you realize you’re not alone. For me, having the right mindset, and a bit of humour, made all the difference. I told myself that whatever the side effects were, it was better than dying.
Looking back, my doctor figures I probably had cancer a year or a year and a half before I was diagnosed. That’s why I tell every guy I know: take control of your health – no one else will do it for you.
If you’re 40 or older, get checked. Don’t wait for symptoms. I thought I was too young to be at risk, but prostate cancer doesn’t care how old you look. The MAN VAN® saved my life because it got me tested early. I’m grateful every day that my friend asked me to help out that morning, it might just be the reason I’m here to tell my story.
Names removed for confidentiality