Marathon runner with prostate cancer urges men to check their risk
IT’S THE most common cancer in men, but plenty of people rarely give it a second thought.
In fact, one in eight blokes will get prostate cancer, and if you’re black, that risk doubles. It’s a sobering thought when you’re getting together with a group of mates this weekend.
Over-50s or anyone with a dad or brother who has had prostate cancer are also at a higher risk.
The good news is that it’s also one of the most treatable cancers – especially if it’s spotted early. But taking action is vital.
Prostate cancer doesn’t always have symptoms and there’s currently no screening programme.
That’s why Prostate Cancer UK is calling on fellas right across Britain to go online and take a 30-second risk assessment.
In less time than it takes to make a cuppa, the charity’s risk checker tool will tell you if YOU are at higher risk and what you can do about it.
Prostate Cancer UK, the leading men’s health charity, is working towards a future where diagnosis comes earlier and no man dies of the disease.
The charity is clear: we need a nationwide screening programme where men are invited to take a test, like there are for other cancers such as bowel and breast cancer.
It’s a move that could save thousands of lives every year. Lives like Peter Hall’s.
Most read in Health
By the time Peter’s aggressive prostate cancer was found two years ago, it had already spread to his bones.
Retired plumber Peter, 58, from Tonbridge in Kent, is married to Suzy and has two grown-up daughters and a son aged 16.
When I was told it was cancer, I went blank
Peter says: “I was always fit. I was a soldier, a police officer and then a plumber. I’ve completed five marathons. My diagnosis was a bombshell. It’s not curable, but it is treatable.”
He is backing a screening programme and says if his cancer was caught earlier, he’d have a better prognosis.
“In January 2022 I was training for a marathon. I started to get pain in my lower back and I was getting up to go to the toilet at night once or twice, but I wasn't especially worried.”
His GP ran blood tests for kidney infection and diabetes, but when both came back negative, Peter tried to put it out of his mind.
“Working with other guys, they just poked fun and said I was getting old. I’d have done the same. I had no knowledge of prostate cancer,” he says.
But Peter’s symptoms didn’t improve and in May he was sent for a PSA test – a blood test looking for potential prostate cancer markers.
“I had the blood test on a Thursday and my GP rang me on the Friday to say the result was elevated and she was referring me to urology.
“When I was told it was cancer, I went blank. I can understand a lot of men would have burst into tears, but I’m just not that way. Eventually the doctor asked: ‘Are you OK?’ I said, ‘I'm fine, what do we do now?’
“At that point, I was hoping, having stupidly read stuff on Google, that most men’s prostate cancer is slow-growing and relatively controllable.
“It wasn’t until I’d had a biopsy later that I found out that mine was the opposite. It was an aggressive tumour on the outside of the prostate and it had already spread.”
‘If I had known…’
Since then, Peter has undergone various treatments to manage his cancer, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, tablets and injections. Prostate removal was not an option.
Having a close relative who has had prostate cancer can also increase a man’s risk.
“It turns out my dad had had prostate cancer but I never knew – he was from the generation that didn’t discuss personal issues,” Peter says.
I would like to live to be very old. At the moment, I feel fine
“He died in 2001 of a heart attack, but I got a copy of his death certificate and also listed is ‘carcinoma of the prostate’.
“If I had known, I would have made sure I got checked as soon as I turned 50.”
Help charity’s campaign for your chance to win a £3m mansion
Why not help Prostate Cancer UK’s mission to save lives through screening and have a chance to win a £3m mansion?
Prostate Cancer UK is guaranteed at least a million pounds from Omaze’s latest prize draw to win a luxury five-bedroom house near Guildford, Surrey.
Along with the house, which has a pool, gym and sauna, the winner also receives £100,000 in cash.
Since 2020, Omaze has raised more than £40m for some of Britain’s best loved charities with its Million Pound House Draws.
So what are you waiting for? Get your ticket today!
Visit omaze.co.uk to get your prize draw ticket.
Now Peter is determined to spread awareness.
“I tell all my friends – get checked regularly. An army friend of mine had a PSA test and he’s got prostate cancer, but it’s contained within his prostate.
“He’s on active surveillance. I’m glad at least one person has found out.”
Peter’s future is uncertain, but he’s hopeful and waiting to see if he can join an exciting new drug trial at The Royal Marsden.
“It’s kind of like liquid radiotherapy,” he says.
“I did ask my specialist how long she thought I might have, and she gave me a minimum of three years, depending on how I react to treatments.
“I would like to live to be very old. At the moment, I feel fine, even though my PSAs are currently back up high again.”
Planning holidays and seeing his daughter get married in Jamaica last year have kept him focused, as well as helping Prostate Cancer UK. Peter’s raised around £4,500 for the charity.
“It helps my family that I just kind of get on and do stuff. I’m not lying around all day and feeling sorry for myself.”
Screening for a brighter future
For men like Peter, the research that Prostate Cancer UK funds could be a game changer. Screening would also give more men more time to do what they love.
Recently, Prostate Cancer UK launched the £42 million TRANSFORM trial which aims to save thousands of men each year by finding the best way to check for prostate cancer.
It’s the biggest prostate cancer trial for 20 years and will compare the most promising diagnostic tests to discover the best screening options, so that one day all men at risk will be invited for regular tests.
Men get worried about invasive or potentially invasive tests, but if they were just called up, they’d go
Prostate Cancer UK is also the current charity partner for the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Surrey.
By entering the draw you’ll be helping to fund this groundbreaking trial and to reach those at greatest risk of prostate cancer, raising awareness and giving men the information they need to act.
Peter adds: “Men get worried about invasive or potentially invasive tests or people looking at their genitals but if they were just called up, they’d go.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“Until that happens, everyone needs to make sure they check their risk. It could save your life.”
Spend just 30 seconds checking out your prostate cancer risk online and what you can do about it
