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I had attended most PSA testing events at Burnley Football club since they first started. In 2018, I took my father-in-law along for the first time and we both had our tests with the results coming through, showing that my PSA level was slightly higher than what would be considered in the ‘normal’ range for my age.

When the results came through it was fair to say it shocked me, having absolutely no symptoms and everything ‘working’ as it should. I made an appointment to see my doctor at Yorkshire Street Medical Centre who were very supportive throughout. An NHS PSA test was carried out with similar results, again showing only slightly higher than the normal range. The follow up appointment with the doctor was really supportive, I’d heard so many stories of surgeries not taking the results serious unless symptoms were present, but this wasn’t the case with mine. To make sure, the doctor referred me to urology for further checks which culminated in biopsies being taken for further tests.

I went on a planned holiday the next day, but it was more like 2 weeks of worry. On returning, I found an appointment had been made for the 28th August 2018 to discuss my results with one of the MacMillan nurses, so I feared the worse. I attended my appointment at Burnley General Hospital with my wife, and was given the news that unfortunately seven of the twelve samples were cancerous. The nurse who delivered the message was amazing considering the news she had to share, who gave me lots of support over the coming weeks.

It's fair to say that the next stages of my treatment went by in a blur. The speed in which the tests were planned and the appointments with both urology and oncology to discuss my options, always liaising with one of the two Debbies (from MacMillan), happened over such a short period of time. My bone scan and MRI were done later that week and once the results had come back, the MacMillan nurses would relay information and plan my follow up appointments, firstly with urology surgeon and then with the oncologist to discuss my options.

Due to the cancerous cells being towards the outer area of the prostate, I chose to have it removed. Because of the close proximity to other parts of the body it seemed the best option to reduce the risk of it spreading further. The doctors gave me lots of information about the possible processes, the side effects and possible conditions I may have to live with. Once the decision was made, I spoke at length with the Macmillan nurses and discussed it through with them to plan the date. They gave me lots of advice and exercises to help me post-surgery. I was booked in to have a robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy at Royal Blackburn Hospital on 4th October 2018, less than 6-weeks from diagnosis. Following surgery, I spent eight days in hospital, recovery took a little longer than planned but was glad to eventually return home. Following surgery, I had been fitted with a catheter which I had to endure for around 4 weeks whilst I healed inside. Not going to lie, first 3 weeks weren’t great, but slowly but surely, I started to feel better and could walk a bit further each day, counting the days for the catheter to come out!

Post surgery, the staff in urology, the MacMillan nurses and district nurses were amazing and without the dedication of these professionals my recovery would have been impacted. Some of the side effects of having this surgery include incontinence. I think of all the possible side effects, this was the one that worried me the most. At the time I was 49 and the thought of having to deal with that for the rest of my life depressed me. However, the pelvic floor exercises that the MacMillan nurses had instructed me to do really helped (which I did relentlessly), and although I had the odd accident (coughing and sneezing not ideal!) this never became a problem for me longer term.

I had 3 months off work and then had a phased return back to full time, which I was lucky to have the support and help from my employer. I know not every employer is so understanding, but I have to say the support I received really helped in my recovery.

I have my PSA tested every 3 months and I’ve also have had some follow up maintenance surgery, but to date I’m cancer free and have no long-term conditions. I will need to self-catheterise frequently for the rest of my life, but it’s a small inconvenience compared to what could have happened.

Without trying to sound dramatic, attending the Barry Kilby testing event back in 2018 probably saved my life. I had no symptoms and had no cause to have the test, but doing so highlighted a problem which I did something about. I was originally only going just to take my father-in-law along. Had I not, the likelihood of it spreading and the outlook being somewhat different is something I count my lucky stars for.

 Ray Felters