John McEady

December is a memorable month for me. It is the month of my birth, month of my wedding to my college sweetheart, and December is also the month that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
I thank God that I was first made aware of prostate cancer several years prior to my diagnosis by my Godfather (a prostate cancer survivor). He told me that when I turned 40 being a Black male that I needed to check my PSA annually. At that time, I had no idea what PSA was but he explained it and I made sure to get checked at every physical exam. That awareness possibly saved my life because when I was diagnosed the doctor said I had an aggressive type of prostate cancer and I needed to make a decision about a treatment option within a month. Living in metro Atlanta, I was able to research many treatment options and ask several men in nearby churches about the pros and cons of their treatment. They had opted for robotic surgery, traditional surgery, proton beam, or prostRcision. After research, asking many questions, and prayer, I chose prostRcision because it involved no cutting and had a high success rate for retaining sexual function and urinary control and the medical facility was right here in metro Atlanta. And 15 years later I thank God that I have experienced minimal side effects (sometimes I have to run to the restroom). It is imperative that we educate our brothers to the fact that physical exams and PSA blood tests are key to fighting this treatable disease