I admit I had a little fear.
In the documentary A Crab in the Pants, now available on TVA+, journalist Richard Martineau opens a rare window into his private life. With remarkable vulnerability, he invites viewers to follow the ordeal he faced: his battle with prostate cancer.
Drop Your Scoop
Have you seen anything? Discretion guaranteed.
Through interviews and encounters aimed at demystifying the illness, the documentary offers a backstage view of the journalist’s personal life—an often controversial personality—as well as that of his partner, equally in the public eye. It reveals a much more touching facet than the one they usually project to the public.
Support Through the Ordeal
“Sophie, we’ve been together for 22 years; she was perfect, she’s amazing. I don’t know how people manage to get through illnesses, all that, all alone. There are people who are alone (…) you know, you have cancer and you’re by yourself, there’s no one by your side to comfort you, then reassure you. It must be incredibly hard,” Richard confides.
“I’ll admit I had a little fear, because when we gave the interview to the magazine, Richard went into a lot, a lot of detail about his privacy, about his urinary leaks and all that. So I thought: It’s one thing to say it,” enters his partner, Sophie Durocher, who is immediately interrupted by her husband, giving rise to a funny moment that reveals their couple dynamic, a duo that masters the art of teasing… with a lot of love.
“I know how hyper-sensitive he is… Richard, I had never seen him so fragile,” she testifies, after noting that he is often perceived as a cold and radical figure.
A Real Shock for Sophie
In tears, Sophie confesses that the real shock hit her at the hospital, on the morning of his surgery, when he was lying on a gurney awaiting the operation.
“I didn’t know: Will he stay there?… General anesthesia; you never know when someone will come out of it… I didn’t know in what condition he would emerge… I collapsed,” recalls the host.
Possible Consequences
A little later, while discussing the possible outcomes of the operation—such as temporary loss of bladder control or the fear that cancer might return—Richard opened up about what terrified him most.
“It wasn’t that… what obsessed me was: I hope my erections come back, that was what haunted me, you know…,” he confides, adding that his friend Laurent Proulx, who has been through it himself, reassured him that everything would return in time.
During a discussion featuring Sébastien Benoit, a witness to his father’s battle with cancer, Pierre Pagé, who has himself endured the disease, and Laurent, Pagé was asked whether, for him, things had now returned to normal on that front.
“For me, it’s over… that part must have been touched because there hasn’t been… voilà the joy… but there are other things in life too, you know,” confirms Pierre.
Richard Martineau’s Fears About the Impact on His Relationship
“I told Sophie, suddenly, if ever, you know, we sat down, and: If it never comes back, and if I’m no longer able to have erections, will that create a rift between us? Will you have lovers? Will you want to leave?” Martineau recounts to the camera.
“To you, you see this as an incapacity; I see it as just a different way, a difference. It’s simply another way of doing things,” Sophie responds during a conversation between the two.
“Why would I go elsewhere if I have everything I need at home. I’m a sexually fulfilled woman, I was before, I am now… it’s working well,” she reiterates.
A documentary that is very enlightening, likely to teach viewers more about a topic that remains taboo for many men. Congratulations to Richard and Sophie for their openness and vulnerability, which could help many people affected by the disease.
We wish them above all the most precious thing: health.
This content was created with the help of AI.
