It’s been two years since my
78-year-old friend with prostate cancer
was given a large dose of female hormones.
There is no darkness in his face
as he cheerfully tells me that
his cancer has been completely cured.
He looks more like a gentleman with
nice romance gray hair than ever before.
I used to believe that men with high
levels of testosterone and women with
high levels of female hormones could
maintain their youthfulness,
but looking at him, I am not so sure
about my own theory. I am beginning
to think that whether you are a man
or a woman, if you have more sex hormones,
you might be able to stay young.
A male friend of mine, who has survived
prostate cancer, has grown big breasts
since he was given female hormones,
and he shows them off to his friends,
making them laugh. It makes me wonder
what gender is these days.
As we all know, prostate disease is
often caused by too much male hormones,
and most men with this disease are instructed
to reduce their male hormones. In other words,
they often tell you to stop being a man.
I wonder if I am the only one who thinks
this is really sad.
Perhaps it’s because many of my friends
have taken testosterone, a male hormone
stimulating supplement, in order to
remain men forever, but it’s scary
to hear that six of the ten men
in our group have prostate cancer.
Would you stop being a man to live?
Would you rather die than stop being a man?