I am pleased to say that I am a survivor of Prostate Cancer (PC).* In October of 2020 I asked for a GP consult as a result of a very painful left knee. This resulted in the GP ordering an ultrasound scan of the knee, which also included my pelvic region. It turns out that the knee was only a temporary problem – it was Osgood–Schlatter syndrome, which is usually only a problem for those very much younger than me. However, because the scan included my pelvis, the GP said that the scan showed prostate abnormality, which eventually led to my diagnosis and treatment. I am so grateful to my GP for picking up on this because, as is so often the case with PC, I was completely asymptomatic for PC.
So, in late 2020 and into 2021, tests followed – my blood PSA was high (10.19 ng/ml)**, and an MRI scan and biopsy of my prostate showed that there were problems – leading to a diagnosis of PC in February 2021, although thankfully the PC was localized to my prostate and low/intermediate risk.
But what to do? Because the PC had been caught early, ‘focal therapy’ was a possibility, rather than other more radical treatments, such as radiotherapy or even complete removal of the prostate. Focal therapy is:
a minimally invasive treatment that targets and destroys only the cancerous tissue within the prostate, leaving the rest of the gland intact. It aims to minimize side effects compared to traditional treatments like surgery or radiation therapy. This approach is typically suitable for men with localized, low to intermediate-risk prostate cancer.***
However, Kent Hospitals don’t offer focal therapy – so after a ridiculously huge quote for private focal therapy I asked for an NHS referral from where I was diagnosed in Kent to Imperial College Health Trust, which finally led to treatment using focal therapy (cryotherapy) in August 2021 at Charing Cross Hospital. (If you’re interested to read more about my struggle to get a referral, plus the impact this had on my wife, Maria, we both wrote about this here.)
I am now on the core group that organizes meetings of the ‘Urology Support Group West Kent’, where we aim to help men to come to terms with diagnosis and treatment of PC.
I am also now an advocate for better screening with Prostate Cancer Research UK and Tackle.
*1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, which rises to something like 1 in 4 men with Afro-Carribean background – and there’s also a rise in risk as we get older and for those with fathers/grandfathers who have had it. In the UK, more than 12,000 men die from prostate cancer each year, according to Prostate Cancer UK. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the UK.
**PSA = Prostate Specific Antigen, which in men of my age should have been no more than about 3 to 4 ng/ml.
***Focal therapy is still regarded as ‘experiemental’ by some, although it is now becoming more and more recognized as a successful treatment for PC – and it has been recognized by NICE.