We share survivor stories, links to expertice and treatments, so everyone is better prepared for what may come. Dear Friend,
Having spent decades as a Canadian creator/producer travelling the world, delivering campaigns, shows, and videos for top-tier clients, personalities, and brands, my life was recently upended. After months of tests, on a May 2024 phone call, I heard from my doctor, words no man ever wants to hear: “You’ve got prostate cancer.”
I’d been experiencing symptoms for quite some time, but like most guys, ignored them. The signs worsened, so I called my family doctor, who ordered a full work-up that led to his shocking prognosis: “I really think you have prostate cancer.” “You guys are much more prone to this.” He immediately referred me to a specialist in urologic oncology at Juravinski Cancer Care Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where I live. “Why the hell didn’t I get checked sooner!?” The specialist insisted on a biopsy at The Princess Margaret Cancer Care Centre in Toronto. Terrified, I pushed back. This would be too defining. Prostate cancer is typically passed down from fathers to their sons. Jamaican-born, raised by my maternal family, I knew little about my late father’s medical history. I reached out to my cousin Maxine, a nurse in New York. “Did Sam, have it?” She revealed. “Your father did have it, and so did my dad, and both our grandfather as well.” Consoling me, “Don’t worry, cuz. It’s very treatable.”
Ultimately, I caved, and the biopsy confirmed my greatest fear: prostate cancer!! And with that earthshattering advice: “You should get it treated. It’s not something I’d wait on.” I tried to take the news in stride, but behind all my bravado, there was cold, gnawing dread. “How will my life change?” “Will I now only be half a man?” and the toughest one of all: “Am I going to die?”
Panicked, determined, overwhelmed, I turned to the internet but found only confusing clinical jargon, sterile videos, and jarring statistics. “Black men are doubly prone to be diagnosed with the disease and 70% more likely to die” and no one knows why? I became desperate for voices like mine—real men from all walks of life, sharing their experiences, treatments, and recoveries. This echoing void became my call to action…
In a desperate race against the clock, I met with multiple specialists to weigh my options: chemotherapy, prostatectomy, brachytherapy. The cons. Chose high-dose radiation, 5 short sessions, wrapping around my August birthday: daunting, direct, efficient. I then learnt the hard way that radiation also kills good cells. Recovery was excruciating. By year’s end, my PSA levels dropped to 1.1 from 18. I’ve since learnt of others whose PSA levels had surpassed 80 and cancer had spread to their bones. “You’re lucky,” I’m told. “See you in 6 months.”
I’m incredibly grateful to my family doctor and his staff for being proactive, pushing me with to connect with premium specialists who were all knowledgeable, efficient, compassionate. Contrasted against to the horrors of America or countries less wealthy unable to provide proper healthcare for their populations, I am privileged and proud to be Canadian. Prostate cancer is the number one killer in men, and the risks of incidence and death are wide-ranging, dependent on race or where one lives. Time now for action: “BROTHERS from another father”, a borderless initiative that helps men open up about our private battles with prostate cancer, confront stigma, demystify the disease, and share lifesaving techniques, to ensure we’re all better prepared for what may come. Though our fathers may be different, we’re all in this together. In Gratitude
Len D. Henry
Founder/Ally
