I’M LUCKY IT WAS CAUGHT JUST IN TIME
Ted Wood was diagnosed in 2008 at the age of 60. It was a ‘stroke of luck’ that his doctor recommended a PSA blood test when he went for a regular check-up, as he was not aware of the risk to his age group.
Mr Wood, who was very active and led a healthy lifestyle, opted for brachytherapy – a procedure that treats prostate cancer by the insertion of radioactive implants – which got rid of the tumour.
He now hosts talks on prostate cancer to raise awareness, but believes a lot more could be done.
‘We need to have a screening programme or foolproof test,’ he said. ‘There are not always symptoms – I never had any – and without my doctor recommending the test I would be very sick or dead now.
‘Someone has got to fund it – it will just get worse otherwise. If we can catch it and treat it early it will end up saving the NHS a lot of money in the long run.’
Mr Wood, of Warmley, South Gloucestershire, plans to take part in Prostate Cancer UK’s Bristol March for Men event this year, and hopes that the money raised will go towards a more reliable test.