Scots rugby legend Kenny Logan and wife Gabby’s eyes locked across the room as the voice on the videocall said the words that changed everything; you have prostate cancer.
Shock, confusion and the former Scotland internationalist admits, terror, flooded through him and minutes later he was sobbing in Gabby’s arms as the diagnosis began to sink in. The strength he found in his wife in that moment, and in the months since, have helped the 50-year-old to cope, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Stirling man recalls: “Gabby was in the room. She was behind the screen getting ready for another meeting. We were so not prepared. But when we both heard those words… that I had prostate cancer, she stopped what she was doing, and we just looked at each other.
“So many things went through my mind. I thought, how can this happen? I’m an ex-sportsman. I’ve looked after my body. I had no symptoms I asked the consultant whether I was eating the wrong foods and whether my diet was to blame. He said no, it was just one of those things.
“But the consultant did reassure us both. He said very kindly but firmly, ‘You are not going to die, Kenny.’”
The consultant explained they had caught cancer enough to manage.
Kenny adds: “He said we have time to get it out of your system. But when you hear the word cancer, that’s all that registers, its terrifying. As soon as I turned off the Zoom call, I burst into tears. My wife and I held each other, and we cried.”
Scotsman Kenny reveals it was only because he had agreed to regular PSA testing that he is alive today.
He says: “The check-ups saved my life because the cancer was detected before it had a chance to spread.
“Otherwise, I would have waited until I had a reason to see the doctor, and then it would have been too late.”
He started thinking about his health after listening to his wife discussing mid-life hormone health in podcast The Mid Point with Gabby Logan.
Kenny booked himself for a check-up which identified high Prostate Specific Antigen levels.
He was diagnosed on February 7. The couple then had to break the news to their children, 17-year-old twins Reuben and Lois, later that night.
Kenny says: “It took me back to the day my dad died of pancreatic cancer when I was 20. My kids are younger than I was. I didn’t want them to lose me. Reuben kept repeating, ‘I need you around dad.’ Lois was the same.”
The specialist had outlined three options available… radiotherapy, take the prostate out, or brachytherapy, internal radiation therapy.
Kenny adds: “We were told all the risks. Taking it out is a big operation. There is a risk it may come back, and more aggressive. But I thought I should listen to my specialist. He said, “take it out, and it’s all good.”
Gabby who married Kenny in 2001, travelled with him from their Buckinghamshire home to London for the surgery.
During his recovery, she was juggling helping him with hosting duties for the Euros and then the Commonwealth Games.
Kenny says: “She’s had to worry about me and been busy workwise. It’s been a stress but she’s been very strong. Gabby has helped us all get through this. We always had a rock solid relationship... but we have a new appreciation.”
Kenny was declared cancer-free last month and has returned to work at the sports marketing agency he started after retiring from Rugby in 2005.
Spreading the message of getting tested for cancer is now part of his day. He says there were “people I haven’t seen for 20 or 30 years, telling me seeing me on TV made them get checked”.
Kenny says men are less likely to go to the doctor than women. He adds: “Men need to realise it’s not embarrassing to get checked. Smear tests are common for women now, so why not PSA tests?
“As my specialist says, ‘Men have to go look for the prostate before it comes looking for you, because when it comes looking for you, it will be too late.’”
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