The recent death of beloved actor Jerry Orbach from prostate cancer brings to light the disease that will strike one in six American men. One in 33 will die of it. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer found in American men, behind skin cancer. It is also the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, behind lung cancer.Doctors continue to say that too many men avoid the physical exam, due to discomfort and lack of information or awareness. But with early detection, it can almost always be stopped. While Orbach lost his battle, many others, such as Sen. John Kerry, singer James Brown, former Sen. Bob Dole, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, have battled the disease successfully.
Now one survivor is sharing his journey in a new novel called In Search of Brilliant White Cloud (Ivy House Publishing, March 2005, ISBN: 1-5719-420-2, $24.95), by Simon van der Heym. The book is a semi-autobiographical story of a Jewish man’s spiritual journey as a survivor of both war and prostate cancer. Cloud follows the life of Eric van Polls, from his escape through Europe during World War II, to his immigration to North America, and finally his cancer diagnosis, which forces him to face the issues of death and injustice that have haunted him all of his life.
“Writing this book has been a healing process for me in my journey as a survivor of both war and cancer,” says van der Heym. “As survivors, we need to tell our stories so that others facing a diagnosis for the first time will know that they are not alone. Education is the key to recovery and prevention.”
A native of the Netherlands, Simon van der Heym resides in Toronto, Canada. Now retired, he divides his time between writing, traveling, and sailing. Visit www.simonvanderheym.com or the national Cancer Institute at www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/ types/prostate for more information.
© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com