McGinniss regrets heeding stories that downplayed the dangers of prostate cancer and uses himself as a cautionary tale.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 11:34 this morning.
Two views of Joe McGinniss: Seen in Hampshire Superior Court last year, left, and in Alaska in 2010.
PELHAM – Author Joe McGinniss still has plenty on his plate, but he’ll have to skip the pizza and hamburgers after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
McGinniss, 70, was diagnosed in May but kept the news mostly to himself until recent rumors that he was on his death bed.
On Wednesday, he posted an update on his Facebook page saying the disease is under control.
“People were talking about it,” said McGinniss, who lives in Pelham. He added, “I feel great.”
On his Facebook page, McGinniss said, "There is no cure, so sooner or later it's terminal. It can, however, be controlled, sometimes for years. I'm in the best possible hands at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, being treated with hormonal
injections."
Author of such best-selling works as “Fatal Vision” and “The Selling of the President,” McGinniss established himself as one of the preeminent non-fiction writers of his generation. His 2011 book on Sarah Palin, “The Rogue,” generated a buzz after McGinniss moved into the house next to Palin’s in Alaska to do his research.
McGinniss set his sights closer to home for his latest book, “15 Gothic Street,” which he envisioned as a look at a year in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton. That project was recently scrapped, however, when Amazon refused to carry the serials McGinniss was publishing on Byliner.com in its Kindle Singles store.
“It has nothing to do with my health,” said McGinniss, who described Amazon’s power in the online publishing world in typically blunt fashion.
“Amazon is like the Soviet Union in the 1950’s,” he said.
Because of Amazon’s decision, Byliner has stopped publishing the online version of “15 Gothic Street” after two chapters. The fate of the electronic version spelled the death of the print version as well.
McGinniss said he was diagnosed with cancer in May after doctors took a biopsy. By then, the cancer had spread to other organs and there was no point in removing his prostate.
“It was beyond the stage where they could operate,” he said.
After 12 weeks of hormonal treatment, however, McGinniss is symptom-free and feeling healthy. On the down side, he’s had to cut red meat, dairy, starches, sugar and fat from his diet.
“All the stuff I lived on for most of my life,” he said. “I’ve been eating pomegranate seeds like they’re peanuts.”
McGinniss regrets heeding stories that downplayed the dangers of prostate cancer and uses himself as a cautionary tale.
“They all said this is the cancer you die with, not the cancer you die from,” he said. “I was lulled into a sense of security.”
With the help of a personal trainer, McGinniss said he is now in the best shape of his life. Although he’s had to give up on “15 Gothic Street,” he’s trying to line up a magazine piece about the Cara Rintala murder trial. Rintala, 45, is accused of murdering her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, in their Granby home on March 29, 2010. It is believed to be the first murder case in state involving two wedded women.
McGinniss, who has not been seen much at the Hampshire County Courthouse since June, is looking forward to returning for that case.
“I really liked the people and I miss being there,” he said.
Although his online experience has been disappointing, he’s as philosophical about it as he is about his health.
“It’s like the Jamestown colony,” he said. “We tried, but it got wiped out by forces beyond our command.”