A Co Derry man who was diagnosed with prostate cancer has opened up on the ‘devastating’ moment he was told the news by his doctor.
Keen cyclist and Coleraine man Michael Currid, now 67, was fit as a fiddle in his early 60s and had just returned from a cycling trip to the Alps in 2016 when he started to feel unwell.
After a number of tests he was eventually told he had an aggressive tumour on his prostate.
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Michael said an early diagnosis and surgery to remove the tumour were ultimately successful, but admits he was fortunate to discover it at the right time.
“I do a bit of cycling and I went to the Alps for a week’s cycling with the local club and I felt great. But towards the end of the year I was feeling a bit weak on the bike,” Michael said.
“I had some blood tests and my wife asked me to get a PSA test which I never had done before.
“It turned out after a few tests and biopsies that they told me I had an aggressive tumour.
“Eventually after different diagnoses and decisions to make I ended up going for robotic surgery in 2017 to have the prostate removed.
“At this stage it seems to have been successful, but you never really know with cancer.
“I probably wouldn’t have found it apart from the fact that I was cycling at the time, I had no real symptoms or anything like that.
“It’s quite devastating news to be told that you have an aggressive tumour and that you are going to have to do something about it. You just think how long have I got to live and why me?
“I’d like to think I was reasonably fit at that stage, I come from a family of four boys and I’d have been the fittest of all of us.
“There was very little cancer history in the family going back so it’s just news that you never expect to get.”
Charity Prostate Cancer UK are warning of a ‘postcode lottery’ in the country as new figures show 10,000 men each year are diagnosed with advanced, incurable, prostate cancer.
However, one in five men are diagnosed in Northern Ireland at this stage, compared to one in eight in London.
Michael stressed the importance of those over 40 to have their prostates checked, and said that for him doing so ‘saved his life’.
“It’s very important with prostate cancer to get early diagnosis, especially with the disparity that there is between different postcodes.
“There are probably a lot of people out there who may have this spreading in them but they don’t realise it, getting the tests early certainly saved my life anyway.
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“I would encourage anybody over 50, or anybody over 40 with family history, to get a PSA done.
“I’m still enjoying the cycling with the local club, as long as I can get a leg over the saddle and pedal I’ll be cycling.”
Laura Kerby, Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said the figures coming from Northern Ireland are ‘worrying’. “
This postcode lottery for cancer diagnosis simply isn’t fair, and the picture in Northern Ireland is worrying,” she said.
“Every man should get an equal chance of a cure, which is only possible if his cancer is caught early.
“Unfortunately, early prostate cancer usually doesn’t have any symptoms, which is why men need to be aware of their risk and should take our online risk checker to find out more.
“If you’re at higher risk – which includes all men over 50 – you're entitled to a free PSA blood test from your GP.”
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