'A wakeup call': Prostate cancer survivor raising awareness for disease

Prostate cancer survivor Todd Thompson hosts a charity golf tournament in Kincardine, Ont. each year. (Supplied: Todd Thompson)

A Canadian cancer survivor is sharing his story for prostate cancer awareness month.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The disease affects one in eight Canadian men in their lifetime, and more than 3,000 Albertans are diagnosed each year.

“Cancer gave me a wakeup call and in a weird way,” cancer survivor Todd Thompson, from Kincardine, Ont, said.

His diagnosis on March 26, 2020, inspired him to do all he could to keep the conversation of men's health going, including during September’s prostate cancer awareness month.

“It's about getting men to stand up and take responsibility for their health, (and) it's about getting guys to get their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test yearly and to encourage others to do it as well,” said Thompson.

He recalls the pandemic adding an extra wrinkle to his diagnosis and recovery plan but is grateful his urologist managed to get him in quickly for surgery.

“(Don’t) ignore symptoms. No one knows you better than you, so if something feels out-of-line or different then speak up,” he said. 

“Although my cancer was caught by accident, it was caught early enough that five years later, I am still cancer-free.”

In 2003, men’s charity Movember set out to change the way men think about their health.

“I grew a moustache the first year after my diagnosis, and while it was successful I had this voice in my head that said you need to do more,” said Thompson.

His lightbulb moment came after hearing a quote during a TEDtalk with Movember founder Adam Garone who said, “Movember is so much more than a moustache, having a laugh, it's about each person coming to this platform, embracing it in their own way and being significant in their own life." 

Since then, he’s been hosting a Movember golf tournament in Kincardine raising more than $78,000 for the organization.

This year, the charity is projecting that 3,200 Albertan men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 470 Albertan men will die from it.

Thompson suggests men in their early 40s should get physicals each year.

“My story might have an entirely different ending if I had not gone to see a doctor,” he said.

“Once diagnosed, trust the doctors, but don't be afraid to ask questions.”