By Brenda Jefferies

May 02, 2008

Ted McMeekin considers himself a very fortunate man these days - and he's taking nothing for granted.

The Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale MPP and Minister for Consumer and Government Affairs underwent a radical prostatectomy April 2 to remove a cancerous tumor. The surgery was successful - in large part, says McMeekin, because of a simple test that he urges all men over age 50 to take.

"I've been getting a PSA test done every year. Back in January, I got a call from my family doctor who said, "It's been 14 months. I want you to get your butt up here.'

"I did, fortunately. If I'd waited another eight months, who knows?"

McMeekin noted that this time around, his PSA (prostate specific antigen) score had risen substantially, so he underwent a biopsy.

"It came back as having prostate cancer," he said. "I had to chose my surgery. The best odds were to have the prostate removed. It's the most effective, but it's also the most intrusive."

McMeekin is now cancer free. He will undergo PSA testing every three months to monitor his health - "you can't take anything for granted" - but his current mood is optimistic.

"I must have had 1,000 cards and emails, wishing me to get well and thanking me for going public," he said. "The calls, the emails, helped buoy my spirits, knowing that everybody's pulling for me. I'm thankful for the support, the love and caring and the prayers."

Initially, McMeekin kept his diagnosis private; a press release was issued following the surgery at JosephBrantHospital in Burlington. As a public figure, he recognizes his responsibility now is to speak out about the disease.

"We went public right after we knew the surgery had gone well," he said. "I try to make something good out of everything that happens. I was anxious that something good came out of what was happening to me."

Noting that prostate cancer "is nothing to be embarrassed about," he can't stress enough that all men over 50 should be tested regularly.

"It's something important to declare: if you are proactive this illness can be treated. In this country, 58,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. One in four will die."

McMeekin, who has been a political representative at the annual kickoff of the Ride for Prostate Cancer in the past, was set this week to attend the announcement of this year's event - this time as a survivor. The ride, which raises $70,000 per year for prostate cancer research and support services, takes place on June 12.

McMeekin noted that, starting January 1, 2009, the PSA test is to be covered under OHIP for patients 50 and older. Coupled with colorectal cancer screening and newborn screening for seven illnesses, he expects to see the number of fatalities due to these diseases decrease in Ontario.

"If you can peg an illness early, you can treat it," he said. "I'm living proof of that."

Following four weeks of convalescence, McMeekin eased back into his public role over the past week, stopping by his constituency office in Waterdown to check up on things and getting in about four phone calls a day. He's been keeping up to date, reading through a package of material delivered to him each day, and meeting with a member of his staff daily. His only public appearances slated for this week - in addition to the Ride for Prostate Cancer kickoff - were the Dundas Citizen of the Year awards and the Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence. He plans to be back in his Queen's Park office "semi-full-time" starting Monday.

"Staff have been incredible in my office and the Ministry staff have been terrific," he said. "But I miss my 14-hour days. I'm anxious to get back."

He expects his work, however, to take on a new dimension.

"God gives you a wake-up call - 'Hey, I've got something else for you,'" said McMeekin. "We can get the word out. If even one person catches the cancer early and it saves their life, well, that's better than anything I could do politically."