Dear Readers,

If you’re anything like me you’ll put thoughts on the state of your health to the very back of your mind over Christmas.

But with the New Year approaching, can I ask for your support - and awareness - of the third most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer has now become a bigger killer for men than breast cancer is for women, with more than 11,500 men dying a year.

I know a fair bit about prostate cancer. I’ve had it. And thanks to an early diagnosis of the disease I’m here to tell the tale.

Actually it was a sting in the tail, or rather the hand, that bizarrely alerted me to the cancer. On holiday in Spain, a small scorpion ‘friend’ stung me, leaving me more than a little worse for wear and resulting in a visit to my doctor, some medical tests, and one that revealed my PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) was higher than it should be for my age.

A cancer diagnosis quickly followed, and then a radical prostatectomy operation which used robotic arms to remove the prostate. It’s not as bad as it sounds.

All that was four years ago. I’m still not entirely as good as new, but in pretty good shape for a 57-year-old.

And all thanks to that scorpion and a very much on-the-ball doctor who helped catch my cancer before it escaped the prostate, I’ll hopefully be around for a few more years to come.

Since then I’ve told many, many people my story in the hope they monitor their PSA. It’s a far from infallible test, but Prostate Cancer UK is working on finding a much better one. They need your donations to help fund that research. Believe me it will be money well spent.

Prostate cancer needn’t be a killer. That’s for sure. Catch it early and the prognosis is very good. And even if the cancer has spread, such are the treatments available today, that the future is often far from bleak. Many men will live with prostate cancer, and it won’t kill them.

Prostate Cancer UK is doing everything in its power to keep men alive. I know that because I talk to the charity regularly, and am aware of their fantastic research and work to raise awareness of risk and help men and their families affected by the disease. The charity is there for men like me offering information and support. So there you have it.

Prostate cancer. A scary name, but just a disease that can be beaten. Please help us achieve that aim for all men.

My very best wishes for 2019,