A dad-of-eight who "never drank or smoked" was given a devastating diagnosis after avoiding a routine test for years. Mike Crowe was urged by his nurse sister to get checked for prostate cancer, as he had always "shied away" from the test despite being health-conscious.
He finally decided to speak to his GP about getting a prostate exam after the 62-year-old's sister pleaded with him to make an appointment. After a short examination, Mike's GP said his prostate was small and decided to send him for further tests, the Manchester Evening News reports.
He said he knew something wasn't right when the consultant and nurse in the room were not smiling. “They told me the biopsies have come back and that I have prostate cancer,” said Mike, a granddad-of-nine from Liverpool. “Everything just went blank. Everything he said after I wasn’t taking in properly. I stood up and felt weak."
Mike was determined to beat the cancer and fortunately it was caught early enough that it hadn't spread, so his chances of recovery were significantly higher and he was given a number of treatment options. He chose to have an operation, which was carried out at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool - and after just eight days, he was back on his feet and had returned to work.
Now, Mike is urging other men to come forward and have a prostate cancer check if they are in the at-risk category or have any concerning symptoms.
Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and treatable if caught early. Tackling the disease at stages one and two has a near 100 per cent survival rate compared to around 50 per cent at stage four, according to NHS research.
Prostate cancer is usually symptomless during an early stage but the chances of developing it are higher for black men, men over the age of 50 or for those who have a family history of the disease.
However, symptoms, when they do appear can include:
needing to urinate more frequently, often during the night
needing to rush to the toilet
difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
straining or taking a long time while peeing
weak flow
feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
blood in urine or blood in semen
Nationally, more people than ever before are receiving urological checks – including for prostate cancer– with over 40,000 more between August 2021 and August 2022, compared to the previous year. The number of patients coming forward was 243,043 in August 2022, compared to 202,252 in the same month last year.
The NHS is running awareness-raising campaigns, such as the latest Help Us Help You campaign, to encourage more men to come forward. In the latest part of the campaign, prostate cancer survivor and TV personality, Dominic Littlewood joins TV doctor, Dr Hilary Jones in a powerful new film to raise awareness of symptoms that could be cancer and encourage those with these symptoms to contact their GP practice.
Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director at NHS England, said: “It’s great news that the numbers of people coming for cancer checks has bounced back since the pandemic, and that more men are getting the treatment that they need for prostate cancer.
“Catching any cancer early leads to a better chance of successful treatment, but prostate cancer caught early is one of the most treatable, with a very high survival rate – so those checks, especially if you’re in the higher risk categories or experiencing any of the symptoms, are vital.
“If you’re worried at all, or if you notice changes in how you pee, contact your GP practice as soon as possible.”
Prostate Cancer UK launched its prostate risk checker tool in February, and it has now been used over a million times. It is really easy to assess your own risk of developing cancer, and only takes around 30 seconds.
