Bill Kenny of Norwich: Cancer diagnosis makes everything very real, very fast
I'm typing this with my fingers crossed (which might help my spelling but will do nothing for my grammar, I fear) since, by the time you read this, I should have completed the radiation treatments in my fight against prostate cancer.
I can't type "successfully" in that previous sentence because there's still a long wait for the results of a series of blood tests that measure levels of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), whose ceaseless increases almost three years ago signaled the start of this campaign.
It was a morning follow-up appointment with my urologist at William H. Backus Hospital when he dropped the "C" word into the conversation and outlined a proposed course of treatment. After he paused at some point, I asked him if he would repeat what he'd just explained since, I had to confess, I had trouble hearing him over the screaming in my own head. He assured me mine was not a unique reaction to a cancer diagnosis. And so began my education.
I've always regarded myself as lucky. I met and married the girl of my dreams almost 46 years ago while a guest in her country (our anniversary is the 21st of this month). Together we raised two children almost entirely here in Norwich. I had a career that brought me joy every day I worked (and my bosses most days when I departed).
The house my wife and I share is within walking distance of Backus Hospital and in the three-plus decades we've lived in Norwich we’ve had many, too many I might say, occasions to avail ourselves of the time and talents of so many talented health care professionals across a variety of specialties.
Part of my good fortune includes, unlike almost 28 million other Americans, having health insurance, with prescription benefits and hospitalization. In case you haven't noticed, and touch wood if you've never needed to worry about it (yet), America is a very expensive place to become sick.
There are currently 72 countries in the world with universal health care, including Albania, Mexico and the United Kingdom, but the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is not one of them.
Health insurance provides for regular physician visits with as-required lab tests, and follow-ups to include diagnostic testing and prescription medication that contributes mightily to living longer and fuller lives. Botswana and the Maldives also both have universal health care, so I'm always bewildered at how so many of us bristle with annoyance if not outrage when I wonder why we cannot (will not?) create a health care system for every American.
I'm stealing a march on Movember, which gets a lot of media attention and is an annual event when prominent public figures grow mustaches during November to help raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide. It's all well and good to highlight a month but even better if we can do it every day of every month. Agreed?
I've sleepwalked through most of my life, to be honest. When I look in the mirror I still see a strapping, handsome, talented man in the prime of his life, a real dynamo and a two-fisted humdinger of a guy ready for anything. (And modest; did I mention my modesty?). Until the day my doctor said cancer, and then everything got very real, very fast. Don't sleep through your wake-up call.
Bill Kenny, of Norwich, writes a weekly column about Norwich issues. His blog, Tilting at Windmills, can be accessed at https://tiltingatwindmills-dweeb.blogspot.com.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Prostate cancer is a wake-up call for columnist Bill Kenny of Norwich
