Prostate Tales: Men's Experiences with Prostate Cancer [Paperback]

Ross E. Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

Prostate Tales reveals, through story and drama, the crises, struggles, sorrows, challenges, and triumphs of men living with prostate cancer and those who care about them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An invaluable aid to men ... with the disease, it’s like having a support group on the night table." -- Wally Seeley, Executive Director, Canadian Prostate Cancer Network

About the Author

Ross E. Gray is co-director of the Psychosocial & Behavioral Research Unit at the Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Center and assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Gray’s areas of expertise include men’s health, qualitative methods, psycho-oncology, and research-based drama.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Men's Studies Press; 1 edition (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931342008
• ISBN-13: 978-1931342001
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,921,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Power to the Prostate!, December 10, 2007

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prostate Tales: Men's Experiences with Prostate Cancer (Paperback)

First things first: I must point out a Simpsons error. In this book, one character remembers Homer Simpson's going through the five stages of grief. He said it was because Homer drank a toxic chemical at the nuclear power plant. Wrong! Homer went through that because he ate fugu at a Japanese restaurant.

If you have ever been at an issues forum or other awareness program, you know that they often start with a skit to break the ice. This book is basically all skits about men dealing with various aspects of prostate cancer. Since these men would probably say that the illness does not define them, often cancer as a topic is buried in the text. The book tries to have diverse men in terms of national origin, sexual orientation, and race. However, in the US, experts encourage us African-American males to get tested from prostate cancer five years before they suggest it for other men. I wish that concern was emphasized more in this book.

Chapters start off with the fiction about men and prostate cancer, then they move to factual comments from the author. I think it's a very practical way for men to explore a topic that they would usually avoid. No scientific jargon is here to scare away everyday readers. However, the fictional portions may just be a scientist having fun dabbling in creative writing. The factual conclusions may seem patronizing and politically correct to others.

This book claims to cover Canadian and American men, but the emphasis is really on the former. The men here go to lots of doctors and almost never worry about the costs of dealing with the illness. This may be how it is in Canada with its universal healthcare, but in the US, financial issues would be a HUGE issue when it comes to men and prostate cancer. This book has a laid-back and friendly feel, like Canada. It's not rush-rush and dog-eat-dog like my own country, the US.