By Paul Williams
If you had asked me years ago what prostate cancer would take from me, I could have given you a long list.
I never imagined asking what it might give me.
Perspective.
Purpose.
Gratitude.
Compassion.
Cancer has a remarkable way of stripping away the things that don’t really matter.
You stop worrying so much about impressing people.
You spend more time appreciating them.
You realize tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, making today infinitely more valuable.
That realization became my mission.
Today, I spend my time encouraging men to get screened early, ask difficult questions, support one another and understand that surviving cancer is only the beginning of the journey.
I’ve learned advocacy isn’t reserved for doctors or researchers.
Sometimes the most powerful advocate is another survivor willing to tell the truth.
That’s why I share my story.
Not because it’s unique.
Because it’s familiar.
Some man reading this article may be avoiding his doctor’s appointment.
Someone else may think he’s too young.
Another may believe, “It won’t happen to me.”
I hope they think again.
If my story convinces one person to schedule a PSA test, start a conversation with a doctor or encourage a father, brother, husband or friend to get screened, then every difficult chapter has served a greater purpose.
Cancer changed my life.
It did not define it.
And it certainly did not finish my story.
If anything, it gave me a new reason to tell it.
