What would be my ” quote” about prostate cancer be if I were asked?- What would be yours? Put in the comment section.
John McHugh:” Prostate cancer is a tough one. To put it in perspective you have to think of breast cancer. We all feel and understand what a mastectomy does to someone we love. The prostate is something you can’t see and the after-effects of the treatment of prostate cancer is something you can’t see. The potential of leaking urine and loss of sexual function ,in addition to the concerns regarding the cancer itself, make the prostate cancer decision unique and strikes intimately at the male ego. It has to do with the dramatic change in the functional aspects of a gland the man does not need after age 50, but if it is messed with has significant consequences. My hat goes off to the men,and the people who love them, who have been through the process.”
Quotes About Prostate Cancer
Harry Belafonte: “Most men, once they are diagnosed with prostate cancer, live with it for a long time. It’s like breast cancer in that way–something they are dealing with for a long time.”
Barry Bostwick: “Well, I had two choices really the doctor gave me, was radiation and surgery, and I didn’t want the radiation to go out over a long period of time, and he said that the surgery would — basically, there was a very high percentage of curing it. And so I went with the surgery, even knowing the side-effect issues.”
Louis Farrakhan: “[Prostate cancer] took me down so fast, that it concerned me greatly because, though I’m nearing 66, I have never been sick like this in my life.”
Rudy Giuliani: “My father had prostate cancer 30 years ago, when the treatments didn’t exist and when you could only really detect it at a much later stage because they didn’t have PSA tests,” the mayor said. “They had only physical examinations. And a physical examination would not have revealed this form of cancer. So what he had was much more advanced than what I dealt with.”
Robert Goulet: “I’m a prostate cancer survivor. When you or the person you love is diagnosed with cancer, the first thought is of the end, and that is our destiny, but I’m here to talk about the value of living with cancer. It’s not an easy battle, but we need to believe life goes on even in the face of cancer, and life can become more full because of cancer.”
Merv Griffin: “And I said oh, I don’t want anything sliced out of me. I’ve never had an operation in my life. No, I don’t want to do that. And, then they told about radiation. I said I’ll do that. And then I went off on my boat out onto the Mediterranean for two months and the doctor, you know Skip Holden very well from the Milken Foundation … and he called and he said Merv, you have to undergo treatment. What are you doing out there? And, I said well I will. I will. I will. By this time I had forgotten and he ruined my whole day. He called, you got cancer remember. So, I came back and said all right and then every morning five days a week for seven weeks.”
Hamilton Jordan (former Carter White House chief of staff): “I was fortunate … due to the fact that I caught it early it was confined in my prostate. I had the surgery. There’s a debate about what you should do. One of reasons that we’re hearing about so many people — Norman Schwarzkopf, Joe Torre, Rudy Giuliani — having prostate cancer is because this test, this PSA test, detects this disease at a very early and curable stage.”
John Kerry: On his prostate surgery: “I made a judgment that it is better to get this thing out of me, to be free, to get the cancer out.”
Roger Moore: “I had prostate cancer. It was rather painful and, in many ways, life-changing.”
Arnold Palmer: “Just get your regular check-ups and PSAs and, if you’re diagnosed, do everything you can to eradicate the disease. I think we are fortunate to have the best doctors in the world in this country. If you’re not satisfied with the diagnosis and prognosis, then get another couple of opinions. But, in the final analysis, you need to do what it takes to get rid of the cancer and get on with your life.”
Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf: “I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March of 1994. I survived, but since then over 175,000 American men didn’t. The good news is that this war can be won — with a combination of early detection, treatment and a commitment to ongoing research.”
Bishop Desmond Tutu: “When you hit 50, men should have the prostate examination annually. If there is a history of prostate cancer in your family, then start earlier. My wife and I decided to go public because cancer gets bad press. People assume it’s [always] terminal. … I appeal to our people that the rectal examination is not as bad as people make it out to be. It may be slightly uncomfortable, but no more than going to the dentist for an examination.”
Prostate Diaries 