Presenter urges men to get checked after prostate cancer battle
BBC Midlands presenter Nick Owen has urged men to get early checks for prostate cancer after his own surprise diagnosis last year.
Despite having no symptoms, the 76-year-old was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of the disease following a routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
Although the results weren’t worrying, his doctor sent him for an extra scan just to be safe. Nick admitted he didn’t want to go at first, but the check-up ended up saving his life when it revealed he had cancer.
He said: “One thing led to another and suddenly, it turned out I’ve got aggressive prostate cancer and needed to do something sharpish. It was a horrendous shock to the system, but I had been keeping an eye on things.”
Now, alongside cancer care specialist GenesisCare, Owen is leading a new podcast called Deadly Silent. The aim is to get men talking about their worries and to encourage them to get checked sooner rather than later.
Research from GenesisCare shows that as many as eight in 10 men initially keep quiet about their concerns over prostate cancer. Only two per
cent know that it can actually be treated in just one week, while still living a normal life.
One in 10 people also take six months to voice their concern, if they ever do, which could prevent early stages being treated. Nick shared his own experience of the fear of telling his family about his diagnosis.
He remembered the moment he had to tell his four children, who he shares with his wife Vicki.
He said: “She was with me every step of the way, so she heard all the bad news at the same time as I did. But, it’s then phoning your children afterwards and that’s very tough, it really is very, very emotional. So that is one of the worst things about it, but my wife, she was with me at all the meetings with the various experts, so she was right there. I think it’s very important to recognise the stress it puts on wives and partners and what an important part they have to play, and coping with you post-operation as well, as that’s not great.”
One in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. If you’re over 50, or black, or have a relative who has had it, you will be at a higher risk.
Prostate cancer is not always lifethreatening, but the earlier you catch it the more likely it is to be cured.
While those over 50 are more likely to be diagnosed, Owen is also keen to get younger men to be aware of it such as his three sons.
He said: “I’ve got three boys, I keep saying to them, ‘Be aware, be aware.’ They’re sort of just into their early 40s, one is late 30s, so I want them to start looking into it themselves; they hadn’t really given it a thought since last year.”
Nearly a year after finding out he had cancer, Owen said that he feels more emotional now because of the stress. But things are looking up for him in terms of his health.
He said: “I had everything taken away including 25 lymph nodes. The surgeon said afterwards that everything seemed to be clear. The lymph nodes had no cancer in them and he said they were looking pretty good.”
Owen also mentioned that his latest PSA test score is really low at 0.008, which is great news.
“I’m hopeful, but you have to keep an eye on things. I definitely seem to be all clear now, I hope it stays that way,” he added. “Day to day, I feel pretty good, it does have an effect on you though there’s no doubt about that. I get extremely tired that’s one thing, I’m exhausted very quickly but emotionally it affects you and it really makes you think about your own mortality and the mortality of people around you, family.”
I think it’s very important to recognise the stress it puts on wives and partners and what an important part they have to play Nick Owen