AR Alan Richards BooksDown the Road Media

For men facing prostate cancer — and the people standing beside them

My Cancer Journey

A prostate cancer diagnosis. A recommendation to remove his prostate. And a man who refused to hand over the keys to his own future. Alan Richards tells what he questioned, the conventional and unconventional paths he explored, what went wrong, and what he learned the hard way.

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Newly diagnosed? Questioning your options? Helping someone you love? This is the story from the other side of the examination table.

Digital edition • 36 pages • PDF + online flipbook access • Secure Payhip checkout

3D My Cancer Journey book featuring a blue 1957 Chevy at sunset
Unfiltered patient perspectiveThe questions, doubts, and decisions behind the diagnosis
Not just the standard scriptUnconventional choices, real setbacks, and lessons learned
Secure digital deliveryPDF + online flipbook through Payhip

The story behind the book

I wasn’t supposed to survive. I had questions.

When I was told I needed surgery, I wasn’t ready to accept that the first recommendation was the only road. I wanted to know my options, weigh the consequences, and make my own decisions.

My Cancer Journey tells that story without dressing it up: the diagnosis, the uncomfortable questions, my pursuit of nonconventional approaches, the doctors and tests I continued to rely on, and the setbacks I could not ignore.

I compare my body to a beat-up 1957 Chevy. A shiny exterior means little if the engine is failing. You need to look under the hood, understand the gauges, and stay responsible for what happens next.

This is not a promise that my choices will work for anyone else. It is what I experienced — and why I believe patients should never stop asking questions.

Want the whole story? Read the choices, turning points, and lessons in the full memoir.

Get My Cancer Journey — $19.95

Who this book is for

When cancer enters the picture, you deserve more than a quick answer.

You don't need to agree with every decision I made. If you've ever wondered whether you're getting the whole story, this book gives you something rare: one man's candid account of questioning the recommendations, taking a different road, and living with the consequences.

Men facing a new diagnosis

If the words prostate cancer have left you overwhelmed, read how I faced the diagnosis, the proposed surgery, and the questions I refused to leave unanswered.

Men looking beyond conventional answers

See which paths I questioned or declined, the nonconventional approaches I personally explored, and where the results and risks forced me to reconsider.

Wives, partners, and families

Understand what this experience can feel like from the patient's seat — the fears, stubbornness, hope, and decisions that loved ones must navigate together.

What you may take away

  • More informed questions to bring to your own decisions
  • A firsthand look at conventional and nonconventional choices, without a sales pitch for either
  • A warning about complacency, even when things seem to be improving
  • Permission to stay in the driver's seat of your own health decisions

Not a formula. Not a guaranteed outcome. A real story that may change the questions you ask.

Read the full story — $19.95

Available now

Books by Alan Richards

My Cancer Journey 3D book cover with blue 1957 Chevy
Featured eBook

My Cancer Journey

What happened when I questioned a surgery recommendation, explored unconventional approaches, and learned that no decision relieves you of the responsibility to keep watching the gauges.

  • 36-page digital edition
  • PDF download + online flipbook access
  • 10 chapters about the questions, risks, personal choices, setbacks, and lessons
  • Personal experience only — not medical advice
Direct digital edition $27
Buy securely with Payhip

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Growing Up Richard
Coming later

Growing Up Richard

Another Alan Richards story is being prepared for the library.

Look inside before you buy

Hear the story in my own voice.

Choose a chapter with a recorded reading. Chapter 1 begins with the 1957 Chevy analogy, narrated in my own voice. As recordings for other chapters are completed, their excerpts will appear here. The full book remains available in the purchased edition.

Table of contents

Click the highlighted chapter to hear an available reading.

  2. Chapter 2Risky Choices
  3. Chapter 3Taking the Gunk Out
  4. Chapter 4What Not to Do
  5. Chapter 5Doctors’ Involvement
  6. Chapter 6No More Gunk
  7. Chapter 7Gunk Removed, Parts Installed!
  8. Chapter 8Do Not Reward Yourself!
  9. Chapter 9Knocking on Death’s Door
  10. Chapter 10Death

Chapters 2–10: reading excerpts to be added as recordings are completed.

Chapter 1 — recorded excerpt

Get the Gunk Out

Hear the actual narrated excerpts used for the chapter-reading video series.

The ’57 Chevy — Chapter 1

How an old Chevy helped me understand what was happening inside my body.

This is a brief excerpt, not the complete chapter. The book tells the full story, including what happened next.

Read the full story — $19.95

Reader feedback

Reviews of My Cancer Journey

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The story behind these reactions

Don't just take their word for it. Look under the hood.

Read what I questioned, the roads I actually took, the risks and setbacks, and why I learned never to stop paying attention. If you're facing prostate cancer — or walking alongside someone who is — you'll recognize the questions.

Buy My Cancer Journey — $19.95

PDF + online flipbook • Secure Payhip checkout

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Alan Richards, author of My Cancer Journey

About the author

Why I wrote this book

Alan Richards writes personal stories with humor, skepticism, and a willingness to talk about the parts people usually leave out.

My Cancer Journey was written for people who want to hear what the decisions felt like from the patient’s side: what questions were asked, why certain roads were chosen or declined, how doctors remained involved, where setbacks changed the picture, and what he would do differently.

Alan isn't asking readers to copy his decisions. His point is simpler: don't surrender responsibility for your own health. Ask the hard questions, weigh the risks, and stay engaged even when the numbers look good.

Published by Down the Road Media.

Ready to read Alan's story? The digital edition is available now.

Buy the eBook — $19.95

Medical disclaimer

My Cancer Journey is a personal memoir describing the author’s own experiences and decisions. It is not medical advice, does not diagnose or treat any condition, and is not a substitute for care from a qualified medical professional. Readers should discuss medical decisions with their own healthcare providers.

Questions?

Contact Down the Road Media

For order help, reader questions, review permissions, or media inquiries, contact Down the Road Media directly.

help@alanrichardslibrary.com