IT’s NOT JUST MEN WHO SUFFER WITH PROSTATE CANCERProstate Cancer is something very personal to me- I have inoperable Prostrate Cancer. It is being controlled and monitored, but it is never going to be cured. I am not going to go into all the signs and symptoms to look out for or say when men should go for a check-up, there are better qualified experts than me out there to do that. Suffice to say -get checked and don’t put it off. No, I just want to tell you a little bit about the effects on the lives of those close to and maybe living with a victim of this insidious cancer and the side effects that some of the treatments used to hold it in check can cause.
Family members do feel the same fears and anxieties that sufferers do, but they are the ones, who have to put the brave face on, have be there to love and support, to endure getting wakened multiple times at night when the cancer or the treatments cause repeated trips to the toilet. They are that shoulder to lean on, they are that tower of strength, the ones who have to do extra washing when accidents happen or nightwear gets saturated in perspiration from the ‘hot flushes’ caused by hormone injections. They are that brave face supporting you when you’re feeling low. They can be the victims of the grumpiness and short temper that treatments sometimes cause yet still remain calm, supportive and who ‘just get on’ with things. They too need support and help from organisations like Cancer Focus NI because without their help and presence in a time of real need cancers sufferers face a much more difficult time. Please do all you can to support the Chairman’s Charity this year and help those dealing with, and those searching for, a cure for Prostate Cancer. Bob McEwan