Dialogue: Only benefits can come of frankness on prostates

by SHELLEY BRIDGEMAN*

You could be excused for thinking there is a veritable epidemic of prostate cancer. No sooner had we been regaled with the details of Paul Holmes' condition and treatment than Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City, announced that he, too, was suffering from it.

The next thing you know, Larry King has dedicated an entire show to the subject, inspired by Mr Giuliani's announcement. Barry Bostwick - a high-profile American actor who has also had his own brush with the disease - was a guest on the show. In a neat twist of symmetry, Bostwick is best-known here for his role as New York Mayor Randall Winston in the television show Spin City.

But of course there isn't an epidemic. Rather, the rapidly rising awareness of this disease can be put down to celebrities sharing their experiences with the public.

While women can often chat quite comfortably about the intimate idiosyncrasies of their bodies, traditionally men just don't talk about that sort of thing.

First, the prostate gland is buried just beneath a man's bladder and, secondly, it affects both sexual function and control of urination. These have previously been the very last areas any self-respecting man would want to discuss at a dinner party. So it was all a very hush-hush, secret-squirrel kind of disease.

Then when Bostwick and Holmes were struck with prostate cancer, they used their profiles to do something positive in their communities and to educate the public on this silent killer. Bostwick was presented with an award for his courage in being so outspoken about the disease and for encouraging other men to focus on early detection.

While early detection sounds very well and good, and is enormously helpful in reducing mortality rates, it should also be noted that one of the key diagnostic tests is called a digital rectal examination. In some staunch sectors of society, the name alone has been enough to make a bloke feel a tad queasy.

Women become resigned fairly early on in life to being poked and prodded by various doctors for a wide range of gynaecological and obstetrical reasons, but the prospect of becoming quite that vulnerable in a doctor's surgery has been an anathema for many men.

However, men no longer need to view such tests with suspicion. After all, they've now been discussed at length on CNN by some very prominent men and, as a result, the dangerous mystique surrounding the examination and testing in general has been lifted.

The word on the street in smart parts of Auckland is that we've all heard more than enough about Holmes and his prostate cancer. Cries of "enough already" and "too much information" can be heard reverberating from the fine eateries down at the Viaduct Basin.

It's ironic really because this is probably the same crowd that eagerly digested every last scrap of the Fleur Revell story. Back then, his sex life was a hot topic and now suddenly no one wants to know about it. Is that hypocritical or what?

These people should try thinking outside the square of the table at which they're dining. Perhaps they should ask themselves whether they really believe that New Zealand's highest-profile personality is relishing the extra publicity afforded by his willingness to be open about his condition.

Somehow I just don't think he's doing it to attract the girls.

In being so frank and honest, Holmes has done the country an enormous favour in increasing awareness and understanding of a serious disease. He has candidly discussed the symptoms and the treatment without a thought to his own privacy or anguish over such a life-altering experience.

Prostate cancer - despite its previous low profile - is one of the most common forms of cancer in men. There is no doubt that lives will be saved thanks to our increased awareness.

All over the country, wives, mothers and daughters are reminding their husbands, sons and fathers and anyone else who will listen that once they reach a certain age, they should have the appropriate examination.

Holmes has always been an easy target; somehow over the years it's never been difficult to find things to snipe at. But his matter-of-fact public handling of his cancer simply isn't one of them.

In the United Sates, Bostwick was rewarded for his openness, while here Holmes is vilified in certain circles. Makes you think, doesn't it?

* Shelley Bridgeman is an Auckland writer.