Five years after surviving prostate cancer, Régis Labeaume can finally call himself “cured”. However, he still considers himself “on a mission”: to improve the fate of patients and to convince men at risk to be screened.
• Also read: Prostate cancer: a successful operation for Richard Martineau
• Also read: Richard Martineau suffering from cancer: Patrick Lagacé sends “positive thoughts” to his former colleague
• Also read: Prostate cancer: “It’s sneaky”
“I am on a mission because it is a subject that I think I know well,” says Mr. Labeaume, in an interview with The Journal on the occasion of the Noeudvember awareness campaign of the Procure organization, of which he is once again an ambassador.
“And I went far in my investigation, so much so that a few weeks ago, I witnessed a prostate removal operation in the operating room. […] They are magicians, literally,” says the man who was mayor of Quebec for 14 years.
Photo provided by Procure, Andréanne Gauthier
He noted how using a robot to assist the surgeon makes “all the difference” for patients in Quebec and the east of the province by making the procedure less invasive.
Request
However, this equipment from which he himself benefited would be in high demand.
“I did it to find out, but also to appeal to everyone because a robot is missing in Quebec,” he said, inviting all the organizations concerned to work “together” to find the money.
Verification carried out with the Quebec City University Hospital, the hospital center now has two prostate surgery robots, one acquired with the support of the University Hospital Foundation and another for rent.
“The possibility of acquiring this second robot is currently under evaluation,” indicates spokesperson François Cattapan.
When to get tested?
This is not the only hobbyhorse of Régis Labeaume, who also insists on the importance of publicizing the risk factors for the disease, which kills nearly 1,000 Quebecers per year.
“There are a lot of questions about when to get tested […] The message is quite simple. If you have had it in your family, it’s already a big sign,” he recalls.
He says he hadn’t looked into his own family history on the subject until his doctor talked to him about it.
“Having known that, I’ll tell you I would have run to my doctor a lot sooner and maybe I wouldn’t have needed to have the ablation.”
Courage
Praising the courage of personalities who made their diagnosis public in recent months, Régis Labeaume believes that mentalities are starting to evolve, but that taboos persist.
“The problem is that guys are afraid of not having sex anymore. I want to tell them: come onguys. You’re going to have another one [vie sexuelle]», he says.
As part of Noeudvembre, Procure notably put on sale a collection of seven pairs of socks with a bow tie and pocket square, at a cost of $99.
“A great Christmas gift,” adds Mr. Labeaume, clearly taking his role as ambassador seriously.
Do you have any information to share with us about this story?
Write to us at or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.
