Yes, this past November 1st, 2022, I was told I have prostate cancer.
The news hit me like a freight train running over greased tracks down Mt. Kilimanjaro. I sat there in the cold doctor's office, waiting for what felt like days, when she entered...
The good doctor was very skilled when she uttered the words, trying to soften their blow, but when I heard the "C" word, my mind, my world, my everything just went blank....
My wonderfully loving aunt accompanied me on this fateful journey to the doctor's office because we both knew what we were both going to hear before we even entered. The biopsies, the MRIs, the DREs, the PSA exams, the questionnaires, the poking, jabbing, and co-pays all added up....I had the "C" word....
All my focus turned in the blink of an eye to my children. Yes, I immediately thought I would not see or talk with them again because I was going to die before that dream ever had a chance...I'd like to think I was like you all in that that is where our mind goes when we hear such dreadful news, but once my mind (and my heart) recovered and I heard the doctor say again as if I had risen from a month-long coma that "we caught it early, Mark, and your prognosis is very positive".
Yes, we caught it early. And, that is all great. And, I will most likely die of something else before I die of prostate cancer. I certainly hope it's not a broken heart; but, even if it is I will still be filled with the thoughts, prayers, and streaming tears of the ones, especially the children, who hear the "C" word and they have no one with them to hear it (eg my aunt) or their prognosis is not favorable. Where does their world go? Where does their mind, heart, and soul go to feel whole again?
We all have bad days, and I had one on November 1st, 2022. Yet, the gratitude I feel given me from a swift, yet effective, kick in the ass of the "C" word means I must to start living my life fully in the service of others, to have fun doing it, and to leave this planet giving hope to those who have not heard the "C" word at all (before their fateful day), let alone those who have for the second, third, or even forth time! God Bless the Cancer Crusaders..."C" stands for C-O-U-R-A-G-E!
