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Man enough to heal: Redefining masculinity after prostate cancer
Men often confuse virility with notions of manhood, which affects their attitude towards their most common cancer.
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Many men delay testing because they worry that a diagnosis will rob them of sexual function or their sense of manhood.
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
Martha Tara Lee
Prostate cancer has become the most common cancer among men in Singapore, accounting for about 17.4 per cent of all male cancers between 2018 and 2022. More than 7,500 men were diagnosed during that period – roughly one in six will face it in their lifetime. Risk rises sharply after the age of 50.
And yet, many men still shy away from screening. Here lies a troubling irony: Prostate cancer is highly treatable when detected early, but fear keeps men from the very tests that could save their lives for reasons related to their perceived masculinity, which we will touch upon.
