Ron’s story: The importance of prostate health awareness and exercise

When Ron Luciuk was in his 30s, his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Having a pharmaceutical background, Ron knew that his family history meant he had a higher chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer as well. He decided to begin regular PSA testing early and through the years, his PSA levels slowly rose. In 2021, one test returned with a suspiciously high level.

Ron was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer after a biopsy showed that less than 1% of his prostate had cancerous cells. His healthcare team recommended active surveillance and he had multiple MRIs over the next year. During this time, Ron’s older brother was also diagnosed with prostate cancer.

A third MRI revealed that Ron had a tumour on his urethra in the prostate gland, and that the cancer had spread into the pelvic floor. This put him at high risk, and he was couldn’t continue with his expected treatment plan for surgery. Ron began radiation therapy in early 2024.

Since his cancer diagnosis in 2021, Ron prioritized healthy eating and exercise. He made an exercise plan to prepare himself for treatment, changed to a vegan diet and exercised almost every day when he had radiation. This lifestyle would become an important part of maintaining his physical and mental health throughout treatment.

As a fitness instructor, teaching exercise classes became a form of support and motivation for Ron as well. In 2024, he became certified to support and train people living with cancer.

“I knew exercise would help me prepare and go through treatment, as well as help me recover. I emphasized that in the classes I taught. I said, ‘You guys are helping me by exercising with me,’” Ron shares. “Being a fitness instructor is certainly not what I thought I’d be doing when I enrolled into post-secondary education, but I feel it’s the most important thing I can do with my life. Exercise helped save my life and prevented untold side effects from surgery and radiation. I know I’ll make a huge difference in the lives of others.”

Ron decided to start an independent fundraiser called MOVE-m-ber. His goal with the fundraiser was to raise money for research and spread awareness about prostate cancer. Passionate about healthy living, Ron’s fundraiser included an exercise component where he would lead exercise classes and share his story. He raised over $6,500 for prostate cancer research through MOVE-m-ber.

“The fundraiser started by just talking to men about getting their PSA level checked. It evolved into sharing my prostate cancer journey which made the fundraiser much more effective,” Ron shares.

Early detection is so important, even to save just one guy’s life. In my fundraiser, I knew it would all be worthwhile if I could save just one person’s life by getting him to get his PSA checked.

Ron continues to promote the importance of prostate health awareness, finding cancer early and maintaining a healthy lifestyle when managing a cancer diagnosis. His treatment plan will continue until late 2025.

“Somebody helped pay for my cancer treatment, so I asked myself what could I do to raise money for research to help other men going through treatment […] Someone else did what they could to help me, and I’m doing what I can to help others. It's my life and it's my story that's going to help the one guy getting his PSA checked. If it helps one person survive cancer, it was worth it.”