Despite what you may have heard, prostate cancer is a very big deal

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I wish people would stop telling me that prostate cancer is no big deal.

Prostate cancer is a very big deal.

It is such a big deal it claims the lives of 36,500 men in this country every year. To put that into perspective, about 42,000 women lose their lives as a result of breast cancer every year. While the numbers aren’t comparable, they’re pretty darned close.

Yet people dismiss it as if it were nothing – “If you’re going to have cancer, prostate cancer is the kind you want because it takes so long to become a problem,” they say, or, “It’s contained to the prostate, so what’s the big deal?”

My prostate cancer didn’t take 20 years to become a problem. I had to decide within three months how I wanted to treat it. And it can metastasize and spread across your body just like any other cancer.

Also, as a man, I find myself being expected to keep my mouth shut and not talk about it. One friend said, “Let’s drop the subject before this becomes gross.”

I want to talk about it because that’s how I get through my rough spots. I want to talk about the fact that it affects so many aspects of my life. I want to talk about sweating the results of PSA tests every six months – will THIS be the test where my number goes higher?

Speaking of which, I had my latest PSA test yesterday, and the result was available this morning. My level was less than 0.04, which is undetectable.

Very, very, VERY good news.

I’m not asking to wallow in self-pity. All I want is a little understanding and support.

Prostate cancer is a killer. If you know somebody who’s dealing with it, don’t tell them it’s nothing, and don’t discourage them from talking about it.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .