Tim - Its all a matter of attitude. When all is said and done - we are only here for a good time, not a long time. Every one dies - its not when you die its how you live - if you spend your time worrying about what might be instead of what is you may not be living as you should be. I have prostate cancer (mild) - my first wife died of lung cancer (bad) - to be afraid of death is not the way to live - as we are all going there in the end - to embrace life and enjoy all the moments is the way to go. you never know - tomorrow you may get hit by a truck.

Tim -- Your comment is poetic. For many of us, your thoughts resonate with precision. I said to many people after the surgery what you said "It's been sort of liberating." I think prostate cancer is particularly so. No one can endure the anxiety of uncertainty, the protracted waiting for repetitive PSAs, the awkward invasion and discomfort of the biopsy, the surgery, and "life with Foley." And then to stand in front of a nurse practitioner to demonstrate that I could inject the trimix on my own . . . .

I don't have the same feeling as the man you quoted who does not "feel like a man" anymore. To the contrary, I look at men who are too squeamish to even submit to a DRE and realize that in one sense, I have bigger cohones than I've ever had.

I also worry about those same timid men, who when offered the choice to have a PSA or not, or have a DRE or not, will say "no," not because they carefully evaluated the risks, but because the ACS and media say that "there is no proof" it saves lives. It absolutely saved my life. The tests and the good Lord, that is.