VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Golf is the perfect euphemism for Steven Crocker’s new children’s book, “What’s Wrong With Billy’s Balls.”
“So we decided to do a children’s book because, I mean, early detection is going to be the key to a better prognosis with testicular cancer, as with any cancer,” Crocker said. “So what better age to reach somebody than as a child?”
Crocker’s life changed forever five years ago, when at 25, he was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer.
“I mean, I probably make people uncomfortable talking about testicles all the time,” he said. “But, you know, it is what it is. Somebody had to do it.”
Crocker hosts a podcast called “It Takes Balls,” in which he speaks to testicular cancer survivors, patients and their families. The book is how he’s talking to kids.
It is co-written with his wife, a children’s oncology nurse, and illustrated by his brother and sister-in-law. The goal he said, is for those diagnosed, usually young men — the average age of those diagnosed is 33 — to read it with their sons and start a conversation.
“According to Johns Hopkins, the sons of fathers who had testicular cancer [are] at a two-to-four times increased risk of developing the disease,” Crocker said.
The characters in the book are named for Crocker’s doctors, including the course pro, Mark, named for Dr. Mark Flemming of Virginia Oncology Associates.
It’s a nod to the community that coached Crocker through a devastating diagnosis, to this point where he is wining in the game of life.
All the money raised from sales will go to the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation. You can buy it on Amazon, but if you buy it through the TCAF, the foundation will get a bigger cut for awareness programs.