The Powerful Role of a Wife’s Love and Support Through Prostate Cancer: Meet The Survivors Redefining The Conversation

Harris—a prostate cancer survivor whose father’s battle with the disease prompted him to stay vigilant, ultimately leading to his own diagnosis last year—admitted his wife Stephanie inspired him to share his cancer news publicly on “Good Morning America.”

Stephanie wasn’t shy to address how she believes “men don’t talk about anything, especially if it involves illness,” which is why she felt her husband speaking out “was really important.”

She wanted him to talk about it because “the women in the audience of ‘Good Morning America’ will tell their significant others that they need to go get checked.”

Harris said, “I think men struggle to talk about this traditionally because we are men. We are the head of the household. We cannot show fear. That’s a bunch of bullshit, you know?

“Because we’re human beings. There’s nothing wrong with showing emotion. There’s nothing wrong with being vulnerable. To me, that’s being a man.”

He continued, “I’m grateful for the family that supports me, that challenges me, that kicks me in the butt when I need it. That gives me a hug when I need it.”

“All of those things. And I thought I was grateful for those things before, but they get really enhanced when you have to meet a moment, and it gets deeper and better every day.”

Meanwhile, when Blumenfeld was asked by Harris how he felt when he was diagnosed, he said, “You hear those words. And as you know, it’s scary.

“And am I going to die? How am I going to tell my loved ones?”

Blumenfeld admitted, “I didn’t want to talk about it. It was very difficult for me to talk about because I didn’t know what I was going to do and how I was going to handle it. And I didn’t know how to deliver the message.”

“I was still wrestling with accepting my diagnosis and the next steps. So my way of handling it was to really not talk about it. I only told a few choice people, my wife, a couple of people that I work with who were going to have to cover for me while I was out, and my father. And that was it.”

Sharing how it was his wife who called him over to the TV to listen to Harris telling his story on “Good Morning America“ with the show’s host Michael Strahan, Blumenfeld said that moment gave him the bravery he needed to talk about his journey with loved ones.

Telling Harris how that moment shaped him, he continued, “I’m watching you and you’re looking straight into the camera and explaining that even if you couldn’t get through to the men who might not be watching this show, that hopefully women or moms or wives would be watching this and would convince their husbands or their sons or their children to talk about it.”

“And so my wife looked at me and said, what more do you need to hear?”

Coincidentally, Blumenfeld and Harris underwent surgery at the same hospital around the same time.

Blumenfeld recounted how, when they met in the hospital halls, Harris advised him on the importance of support from family and friends throughout this time.

“You need to have a team around you,” Blumenfeld recalled Harris telling him.

As for stage 4 cancer survivor Sherwin “Zee” Zenon, a former technician from St. Louis, Missouri, he confessed to Harris and Blumenfeld that his metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis absolutely “broke” him. It also resulted in him needing to relearn all the basics after undergoing a clinical trial, which his body “rejected.”

Zenon explained, “It affected my speech … the year of 2023, I basically spent that entire year in kindergarten because I had to learn how to walk again, how to read again, write again, learn my name, phone number, and remember my email address.”

Noting how he’s not 100% better, he insists he’s “way better” than he was in 2023—and he has his loved ones and purpose of raising awareness to thank for that.

Further emphasizing the important role his significant other played in his life, “Now, more than ever, I am so grateful for my wife. God knew she was the right one for me. That’s my girl. That’s my rock.”

“And now I appreciate things in life that I didn’t before.”

Zenon added, “So I’m grateful for the job that she’s done and that she’s still doing. And now I appreciate things in life that I didn’t before. Sometimes now I’ll get up in the morning, go downstairs, get a cup of coffee, and I just appreciate the birds, the trees where we live.”

“Just simple things, just creation.”

The Importance of Care Partners & A Strong Support System

When battling cancer, regardless of what type it is, it’s always helpful to have another person around to help make vital treatment decisions. This special person can be a spouse, another close family member, or a friend acting as your care partner.

For prostate cancer patients, Dr. Leonard Gomella, chair of urology at Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Philadelphia, previously told SurvivorNet that a care partner is especially crucial because navigating a diagnosis and treatment options can be overwhelming.

“We always stress the fact that it’s good to have a partner when you come into the doctor’s office to discuss the initial diagnosis and treatment options for prostate cancer,” Dr. Gomella says.

The first appointment often involves a flood of information — diagnostic details, treatment pathways, and potential side effects. A care partner can help absorb, process, and later recall these details, ensuring that nothing gets lost in the emotional haze of the moment.

Why A Care Partner Is Crucial For Prostate Cancer Patients

Navigating Complex Choices Together

Since prostate cancer treatment is so highly personalized, with options ranging from active surveillance to surgery, radiation, and innovative therapies, patients must carefully consider approaches based on their disease stage, overall health, and lifestyle.

Many treatments carry lingering side effects — such as changes in urinary habits or sexual function, including erectile dysfunction and alterations in penis size — which should be thoughtfully weighed during decision-making.

Dr. Gomella notes that while the diversity of treatments is promising, it can also be confusing. A care partner can serve as a sounding board, helping the patient ask the right questions and consider the implications of each choice.

“One of the challenges we have today with prostate cancer is that there are many different options available for all stages of the disease. It’s not a one-size-fits-all anymore, and this is good news and bad news,” he explains.

In many cases, a spouse or partner steps into the caregiver role. Together, couples navigate the emotional and physical challenges of cancer — finding strength in shared vulnerability and resilience.

Supportive strategies for couples may include:

• Speaking with a therapist to process complex emotions
• Maintaining open, honest communication
• Learning about the diagnosis and treatment options together
• Joining support groups or connecting with others facing similar journeys
• Whether it is managing appointments or simply being a calming presence at home, care partners play a vital role in bridging the gap between clinical care and everyday life.

(Content independently created by SurvivorNet with support from Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.)

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