My Wife Saved My Life

Diane interviews a man who was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the young age of 51.

Something wasn't right

It was my wife who suspected something was not right. She told me I was disturbing her sleep, by getting up so often during the night. She kept telling me to see a doctor, but I refused. To me I was okay. After a few months, this was still happening and I got concerned, but as a man, I still was saying nothing was wrong. A year later, in 2019, I began to feel discomfort while sitting and noticed that my prostate had grown so it seemed.

I decided to seek medical attention and went to see a doctor, who told me right away that he suspected it was the most feared disease, "the big C," cancer. This shook me. I have been healthy my whole life, was only fifty-one, and had never spent a day in a hospital. There was an occasional headache, but I just took an aspirin. My food comes from a farm. That night, I had so many thoughts on my mind. How could this happen to me?

Advanced prostate cancer

We all think that cancer comes from a bad lifestyle or bad genes. No one in my family had cancer, so I was so confused. My wife and I went for testing, and when we arrived, we were told the cost of this. We did not have enough money. We had to return home and borrow money from family and friends.

I finally got the funds that were needed to cover the costs of testing and went back, and the cancer screening was performed, and the results confirmed that I had enlarged prostate glands and a PSA level of eighty-three, indicating that I had advanced prostate cancer, according to the doctor.

Starting to panic

I went back for a second opinion and felt like I was in a dream. Of course, I had to shell out more money to get another two tests. My PSA had increased, and I started to panic.

When we inquired about the treatment, it was far too expensive for us to afford, so I did not begin treatment right away. My wife and I returned home with my family and began fundraising and saving money for my treatment. This took longer than expected but eventually brought us to the threshold.

Better news

The oncologist recommended radiotherapy. I began hormonal therapy and went through thirty rounds of chemotherapy. At the 6-month mark, I took a PSA test, and my levels were decreasing. This was the best news I had heard in months.

It's been a year, as of this interview, and I just had another test, and my PSA level has dropped from 148 to 1.7, indicating that the treatment is working. The oncologist advised me to have regular checkups, such as every six months, which I intend to do. Men, number one, listen to your wife and get those checkups regularly.

I would also advise you to take advantage of any medical coverage, particularly government medical programs if you don’t have enough medical coverage. It might come in handy during a time of crisis.