Rick Steves Calls Prostate Cancer 'Thrilling and Exhilarating'
Travel writer and TV personality Rick Steves has been all over the world, but when it comes to exciting experiences, he counts his ongoing prostate cancer journey among them.
Steves opened up about his cancer battle in a new interview with People magazine. He announced his prostate cancer diagnosis back in August and underwent surgery in October to remove his prostate. For him, it was a metaphor for how he views travel in general, with the best experiences being the most unexpected.
"I like bumps," he said. “I like surprises. I don’t want everything to be figured out in advance. Travel isn’t supposed to be smooth. It’s supposed to be transformational."
Steves got his diagnosis while filming the 13th season of his series Rick Steves' Europe. Like travel, he wanted to look at everything as an opportunity and not a setback.
"I look at things with a traveler’s mindset, with curiosity, joy, and positivity, and this was something totally new," Steves said. "I've never spent a night in the hospital before and all of a sudden, I’m confronted with an existential challenge. It was kind of thrilling and exhilarating."
Still, it was hard for him to accept that he had to take some time off the road to focus on his health.
"When you’ve found your niche and you love what you do, it’s like oxygen. You can’t imagine living without it," he said. "But when you get that news, you realize work is not as primary. I’ve got to be healthy. I’ve got loved ones I want to be with."
Now, he's looking forward to getting back in the saddle and seeing more of what the world has to offer.
"I’m on the road to recovery and it’s a beautiful feeling," he concluded. "You can’t control where the road takes you in life. Sometimes there’s a bend and you got to take it. You can be positive or negative about it. I'm very positive about my prognosis."