In 2023 I was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer at the age of 53. PSA was 124 and Gleason Score 5+4=9 with spread to lymph node. Not the best news, but also not a huge surprise, I did after all have the test made because I knew something was off. First month after the initial PSA I did nothing, apart from waiting to see if the prescribed antibiotic would solve the problem. It did not, and my PSA was 97. The month that followed I started to research what to do about it. My focus was entirely aimed at official options. I wanted it out and done with. In this period I did nothing to mitigate the problem myself, and the PSA went again up to 120. But the deeper I went in my research, the more clear it became, that official treatments could only be last resort, or the emergency break if things went out of control. It just did not make sense to me, that to solve one problem, I should destroy my overall health and render myself 100% depended on drugs. And that’s when I started to research alternatives and acknowledged the value of taking agency for my own life.
But what does taking agency for your own life actually mean?
Taking agency for your life means recognizing that you have the power to make choices and influence your circumstances, rather than feeling like a passive victim of events happening to you. It involves accepting responsibility for your decisions and their consequences, even when external factors are beyond your control. This mindset shift from “things happen to me” to “I can respond and act” empowers you to pursue your goals, set boundaries, and create meaningful change in your life, even within whatever constraints you face.