Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 1: Kings of Denial
Regional News Stories: Monday, August 18, 2008
Last spring when doctors told ideastream®’s David C. Barnett he has the disease he decided to use this very personal life event as a vehicle to do what David does so elegantly in his reporting for 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS… tell a story.

Living With Prostate Cancer
Regional News Stories: Monday, August 18, 2008
Each year 220,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer...among them this year is our own David C. Barnett. He will be sharing his experiences dealing with the disease over the next few weeks on a blog, "Prostate Chronicles," on our web site wcpn.org. We'll hear about what he's learning from medical experts, from other men with prostate cancer and from his own bout with it. David is about to undergo surgery but before taking off for that he spoke with Morning Edition Host Eric Wellman about his diagnosis...and the blog project.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 2: Guys Get Nervous
Regional News Stories: Monday, August 25, 2008
ideastream reporter David C. Barnett had his prostate surgery last week and continues to write about his experience and recovery.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 3: Too Much Information
Regional News Stories: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wow, this is just like Ben Casey or Doctor Kildare. I’m flat on my back on a hospital gurney being wheeled through a maze of corridors heading for an appointment with a surgical knife. Make that two surgical knives. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Prostate Chronicles - George Harrison: Prostate Cancer Survivor
Regional News Stories: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
One of the first people I went to see after my prostate cancer diagnosis was George Harrison. No, not the musician, but a former professor of mine from Kent State University who underwent a similar surgery over twenty years ago when he was the same age I am today, 56. Dr. Harrison was one of my favorite teachers when I was doing graduate work at KSU back in the early 80s, and I figured there was more I could learn from him. As we settled into a couple of comfortable chairs in his living room, he paused for a moment and took my arm. His face became very serious as he looked me right in the eye, “David, would you like a nice dry sherry?” I quickly assented and he began his story.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 4: Rate Your Pain
Regional News Stories: Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My eyes opened a couple hours ahead of schedule. As consciousness slowly leaked back into my brain, my friend Robin from Washington was with me in the recovery unit, saying something about how the two operations had gone really well without any apparent complications. The goal had been to remove cancerous or potentially cancerous pieces from my body. That mission had been accomplished more quickly than anticipated. Now, those pieces would be analyzed in the laboratory to determine whether the cancer had been contained. The "labs," as they are known, would be back in seven to ten days.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 5: Catheters And Leg Bags
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 8, 2008
It's All Your'n: The sky was a brilliant blue as an attendant wheeled me up to my friend Robin’s car. She had gone through the entire prostate surgery experience with her husband Glenn, several years ago. She was the one who had bugged me about getting tested for several years via e-mails and calls from their home near Washington, D.C. And now, she had come to town to help guide me through the process of surgery and recovery.

Prostate Chronicles - Marvin McMickle: Prostate Cancer Survivor
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 8, 2008
The walls of Marvin McMickle’s office are crammed with photos of him posing with a number of famous religious and political leaders. As the well-known pastor of Cleveland’s Antioch Baptist Church, McMickle has ministered to many parishioners who fall ill and are hospitalized. The tables were turned on him in 2003, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The news sent him spiraling into a crisis of faith. As an African American, he was particularly disturbed to find that black men get prostate cancer at much higher rates than any other ethnic group in the country. He documented his experience with the disease in the book, Battling Prostate Cancer - Getting From “Why Me” to “What Next”? After we perused his Wall of Fame, he began the story that thrust him into the spotlight, several years ago. He said it’s useful to look at the human body as a “jar of clay.”

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 6: Kath Pulls the Cath
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 15, 2008
Luciano was eying my lap, but I edged him away with my foot. I didn’t need a cat jumping on me, right now. Being hooked-up to a catheter and urine bag restricts your life in all sorts of ways. At night, the plastic tether limits how much you can move in bed. By day, you have to be careful not to lift the bag above you waist, otherwise you experience a sort of hydraulic siphoning sensation that quickly gets your attention.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 7: Leakage
Regional News Stories: Sunday, September 21, 2008
The voice of a nuthatch sounded through the kitchen. Glenn looked up from the Washington Post and said, “11:00.” A birder by avocation, his home is filled with carvings, paintings and other representations of winged creatures. And that extends to the kitchen clock, which features the call of a different bird every hour. “You ready for a walk?”

What Do You Really Know About the Prostate?
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 29, 2008
Prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer among men, and if caught early it's also the most treatable. Still many men remain ignorant about the health of their prostate. Ideastream's Gretchen Cuda talks to a prostate cancer expert to find out what every man should know.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 8: My Body and Myself
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 29, 2008
The morning sunlight pried open my eyelids. I pulled a pillow over my eyes and recalled a scene from the film, All That Jazz - the 1979 autobiography of choreographer and director Bob Fosse. Each morning when he woke up, he’d drag himself into the shower to revive after a long night with little sleep. Then, he trudged over to the mirror where he stared at himself, faked a look of enthusiasm, and announced, “It’s… showtime!”

Prostate Cancer Therapy Explained
Regional News Stories: Monday, September 29, 2008
When a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, the treatment choices can be dizzying. In conversation with doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, ideastream's Gretchen Cuda clears up the confusion about the latest prostate cancer therapies.

Prostate Chronicles - Chapter 9: Healing
Regional News Stories: Monday, October 6, 2008
The doctor told me that my outlook was really good. I would be having no further treatments, other than semi-annual blood tests and scans to make sure that no more tumors were showing up. Another milepost on my journey through a mysterious medical world - a world of tubes and drains and staples... a world of pain, pain-killers and obscure acronyms... a world of spurts, leaks, and challenges to my masculinity.

Helping a Friend with Cancer
The Sound of Ideas: Friday, October 16, 2009
When a friend faces a serious illness, we usually want to offer support but are at a loss for words. Often, we respond with "let me know how I can help." Turns out that suggestion isn't always helpful. On the Sound of Ideas®, Regina Brett and guests talk about how loved ones, family, friends or colleagues can comfort someone battling cancer. We'll hear from a cancer therapist, a baffled family member and recovering cancer patients about what really helped, things said that seemed downright idiotic, and hear some funny moments, all the result of well-meaning people. Tips for supporting people with cancer -- what helps and what doesn't, Friday at 9 on 90.3.