No matter how hard you push, advocacy can fall on deaf ears, especially among men. Here’s how I am changing the narrative.

Joe Bullock describes the love and support he received from his wife, who was his caregiver, after his stage IIIB colorectal cancer diagnosis, and how therapy and opening up helped his recovery.

Joe Bullock finally heard the 3 little letters he’d been waiting to hear since his colorectal cancer diagnosis: NED. But he wasn’t expecting the uncertainty that shortly followed, feeling stuck in the in-between phase “after cancer.”

After ignoring his abdominal pain and blood in his stool because of family stresses, Joe Bullock finally had a colonoscopy done at the urging of his wife. A stage III colon cancer diagnosis and the support he received from other patients provided new insights.

Six months before he was diagnosed with stage IIIB colorectal cancer, both of Joe Bullock’s parents passed away. Chemotherapy hit him hard and stirred a mixture of depression and feelings of inadequacy as a husband and father. Then he discovered the power of opening up.