Patients emphasize the importance of early PSA screening, learning about treatment options, asking questions, and advocating for your own care after a prostate cancer diagnosis. They also encourage others to lean on their support network, maintain a positive outlook, and focus on living well throughout their prostate cancer journey.

John Wu:

Part of my journey is to meet up with a fellow man, talk about some issues, hopefully preventing any other cases that if men could avoid it by having an early prevention, just a simple blood test, a PSA can indicate it in addition to the clinical symptoms, but don't wait too long. The chance of a cure is a lot higher, over 90%, if you discover early.

And from the beginning I went online because of not knowing too much about it and I'm very inquisitive about the thing that affected me personally. I went online, did all sorts of research, what takes place and what causes the prostate cancer. And also what treatments are involved and the options. And I think part of that is for people who are not experts in this and they want to know there are options you can learn by talking to friends and people you know who had cancer, prostate cancer in this case. Or go online and also talk to doctors and all these specialists, they can map out certain options and then you decide what to do.

So I felt a lot better walking to doctor's office. At least mentally I was prepared what lies ahead of me. And when doctor says, "No, you have two options. And you take the pick, but I think this is better than the other." So I just went for it. Well, also I have to think about the loved ones, friends and everybody's affected. So I would say it's not one person's decision. It affects a lot of people. So I'm blessed still talking and telling people, "Hey, don't wait, be proactive and get it done early."

Yes, I truly believe a support network is very important, at least for me. People want to help. They want to take me to doctors or they want to buy groceries and things. If I say, "No, you don't feel good. No, we can do things for you." But I've been fortunate and I could do a lot of things on my own. Basically I'm self-reliant, but still for some people who couldn't do it, I would say definitely you need a network.

They might regret is not getting it done earlier. So I would tell the viewers and also my friends, get it checked. It's a very simple blood test and it doesn't hurt anything. And if you discover early, it's over 90% a cure. And in life you don't have a whole lot of things that have better odds over 90%. And this is one of them you have over 90% of odds. You can safely live for a long life.

Keep a positive attitude. I think that improves the quality of your life and expands the health span. And also prioritize a personal affair. And there are some issues more important than others, especially when a person is under stress during the treatment, you don't want to deal with a lot of less important things. Take care of the most important things first and second. I think that at least one more thing is get your PSA done early. Early prevention saves lives.

Jeff Pawlak:

But I've learned that even now, today, I ask questions. I'm always looking to see what is out there, what could be, what could I do more to help me and to help people that come and talk to me. I look at us as pioneers. We're the pioneers like the wild, wild West. We're the people that are going to help our sons, our grandsons and their children with whatever we can give the information to advance a cure for prostate cancer.

And I don't know if it'll be my lifetime, but maybe in a lifetime it will be cured, but it's your body and you should have a pad of paper and pencil laying around. You think of something, write it down. There are no stupid questions on this journey.

The thing I would say to anyone that is struggling with what to do is one, ask questions, be yourself. It's your body. I did have a gentleman once that I talked to and he sent his medical records to John Hopkins, to Cleveland Clinic, to Moffitt. And I just said to him, "It hurt me to say it, but I said, "Sir, you have cancer." He was looking for someone to tell him that it wasn't cancer.

If you accept it, embrace it and just be yourself. If you're outgoing, okay. If you're going to have bad days, okay. The next day's going to be a better day. Find yourself someone to hold onto, like my wife. She knows so much about cancer, but she knows when to be my wife. And that has always been really important to me and it's kept me strong.

Peter Koskovich:

I think the biggest thing I would share with any man out there, regardless of age, including I have three children and my son is 28. And I tell him to take care of himself, number one. Skip the bad meals. Stay active. Don't get stressed out. Don't wait for your physical.

One thing again, not a regret, one thing I wish that I would have stayed on top is with my physicals. I did not. I went for like eight years without having a physical. Bad decision. So I would say take care of yourself. Eat the right foods. Exercise. Be happy. Don't let things stress you out. It's the little things in life that make you happy. Do those things. Just mentally, physically, emotionally, stay happy as much as you can.

I would have said before that I wish I would have not have gotten stressed out or taken things being a competitive person by nature and just being in certain situations, whether it was work related, whether it was personally related or sports related. I think stress to me is a huge factor in how your body reacts to things. I believe that my cancer, I don't know if I would say this to ... it's that probably doesn't affect everybody, but I believe that stress is a huge factor in cancer, period.

I don't have any regrets because if I had regrets, then I would be stressed out. I don't have any regrets. I'm thankful that I have done what I needed to do to be in a place where I'm comfortable. And I just want to be the advocate. I've seen my mother pass away from cancer. I've lost relatives from cancer. It's a mindset. It's the ability to see yourself in the present, not in the past and it's to see yourself where you want to be in the future.

Never give up. Just never give up. Don't ever stop and think that this is the end. It's far from the end. Everybody has so much to live and the journey is long and it's as long as you want to make it.