Hi, my name is Chris and I am 70.
This is a brief insight into my cancer journey.
My story starts last year in May 2025.
We have a local Lions Charity Organisation that do some amazing work raising funds for good causes around our Town and surrounding villages etc. One of their events is a prostate testing day, carried out by the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust; the Lions fund 200 places for men within the area.
I have been aware of the event for a number of years, but thought, having no symptoms, I would be OK. My wife “suggested” that I should go and get tested as I had nothing to lose……!
So, the appointment was booked for Thursday and bloods were taken; it was all over within a few minutes. I was told to expect my results within 2 weeks. I received a letter the following week with my result; it was high. OK, so what now?
I was advised in the letter to make an appointment to see my GP, which I did for the following week. My appointment was with an advanced nurse practitioner. She apologised and said that she wasn’t trained to examine me, but she gave me some words of advice that stuck with me.
Firstly……do not panic
Secondly……do not Google anything
I adhered to that advice.
I saw a GP the following week; he did a rectal examination and then made an urgent referral to the Urology dept at St James’s in Leeds.
An appointment was made for an MRI, and I was advised that if the conclusions were not satisfactory, I would probably need a biopsy. I did indeed need the biopsy. It is a procedure that is probably best described as “uncomfortable” but not painful. This is where the advice I’d been given came into play. As the doctor was taking the biopsies, I was talking to the nurse and mentioned the advice I’d been given. The doctor told me that he could tell I hadn’t googled because of how relaxed I was.
Biopsy done, I was given an appointment to see a consultant within a few weeks. It wasn’t good news, I was informed that the bad news was that I prostate cancer, but the good news was that there was no evidence of any spread within my pelvic area. He talked me through the potential treatments…etc etc and said that I should return after talking everything through with my wife, and speak to a consultant where we could make a decision going forward.
My wife has been through cancer treatment on 4 occasions, so we had the opportunity to discuss everything rationally.
I returned to see a consultant surgeon having already made my decision….the options available were a radical prostatectomy, chemotherapy and a trial which was available, but my gleason 3 score was too high for it.
I opted for radical prostatectomy (robotic surgery).
My surgery was carried out in October 2025.
I had one night in hospital and was discharged the following day with a catheter fitted.
I have to say my recovery was a lot better than I had expected. I had my catheter removed after 10 days, and any leakage cleared up within a few weeks. I started walking and gradually built up my distance and speed over the next 6 – 10 weeks.
I returned to see my surgeon in January 2026.
He informed me that the cancer was more “significant” than expected, so the decision to have surgery was the right one. But, more importantly, had the cancer not been picked up through the blood test, then it could have been a very different story. So, post-surgery, life is good and I’m getting on with things. I have a PSA blood test every 3 months for the next 2 years as part of the ongoing checks.
Being patient with the recovery is paramount. It does affect your “personal” life but being open and honest with your partner works brilliantly.
Stay positive and talk to the right people.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is devastating, but there is a pathway and staying mentally focused is a massive help.
Take care people…..