Powerful Motivation

For me, last week was an emotional rollercoaster in the fight to end prostate cancer. My emotions ran the gamut over the course of the week: I was mad, and sad, and I prayed a lot. Sometimes when I hear the stories of men whose lives have been lost or put at serious risk by prostate cancer, it seems so overwhelming. Sometimes all I can do is spend time with their loved ones, and let them cry with me.

Last week I spent some time in Virginia Beach to get ready for our race there in November. I love to meet families and patients and loved ones I’ve only talked to via phone or email while I’m on the road, and I got to do just that on the coast.

My first meeting was with a wife who lost her husband to aggressive metastatic prostate cancer in 2016. He was 56 years old, a veteran, a fighter, and a father. He had been getting regular PSA testing while on duty and then after he retired and his medical care changed he was not tested for a couple of years. By the time they were able to catch his cancer, it was too late.

Next I met a team from our ZERO Run/Walk series and they had me over to their home for dinner. This team has several prostate cancer survivors who participate each year, but there is one who is the heart and soul of the team. After fighting Stage IV metastatic cancer for four years he is out of treatments options, could not stand the pain in his spine any longer, and has chosen to enter hospice care. He’s now focused on quality of life and seeing his son graduate from college this fall. We spent the night talking about him and his wife and the difficult decisions that his family now has to make and how we, together, can be a part of the solution for his sons’ futures.

I also met with another wife, a woman who lost her husband last year to prostate cancer. For her the loss is still fresh. To be honest, it probably always will be. When she spoke of their life together she said they spent all their time at home, that they only wanted to be with each other. He liked to garden, she likes to rescue animals. They have a beautiful family and now her grandchildren keep her focused on the future.

Pain and loss are powerful motivators. So, while I cried and prayed with these families, it also stoked a fire in me to do more. My job as the Mid-Atlantic Chapter Director at ZERO is so much more than a job. It’s a mission to save lives. There’s a lot of work to be done—to educate the community, to raise awareness of a disease that will take nearly 30,000 lives this year, to raise the money needed to provide support and to further research.

Will you join your fellow Champions, who fight passionately for men and their families? You can help us achieve our goal of Generation ZERO!