I was in and out of hospital in a day
GRAHAM Otway is happy he is still alive to celebrate his 65th birthday next month after keyhole surgery stopped his prostate cancer in its tracks.
He had suffered pain while urinating for months before a friend in the pub urged him to take a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
‘Sure enough my PSA levels were very high and my prostate was outsized,’ he recalls.
Graham, a father of twin boys from Surrey, had his surgery at Guildford Hospital in March 2010. ‘It was amazing. I was in and out in 2 hours,’ he says. ‘They put me on pills to lower testosterone.
‘Yes, there were side-effects but you have to weigh that against staying alive. I lost my facial hair and chest hair and
started developing breasts. The hair started coming back once I came off them, and the breasts went too, eventually.’
Along with his birthday, Graham, a sports journalist, celebrates eight years since his surgery next month.
‘Without it, I would not be here having a drink and celebrating becoming an OAP,’ he says.
‘I really believe that every man over 55 should have the PSA test done every year, whether they think they have a problem or not.’