I beat cancer due to Mail campaign
I WOULD like to thank the Daily Mail for the fantastic work you have done with your prostate cancer campaign, encouraging men to overcome their shyness and get tested. In February 2018, I didn’t have any problems apart from having to get up once a night to use the toilet. But after reading newspaper articles about prostate cancer, I made an appointment at my local health centre for a PSA blood test. The result showed the levels were high. After that things moved quickly. I had an MRI, bone scan and biopsy, which confirmed I had prostate cancer. As you can imagine, it was a shock. But as a farmer, I am pragmatic about life. I thought: I can’t do anything to change the fact, so let’s get it treated. My consultations and treatment were carried out by the fantastic staff of the Altnagelvin Hospital. I opted for radiotherapy as the oncologist felt it was the safer option and surgery would have meant removing some of my bowel tissue as well. I had been given a date to start radiotherapy when I read an article in Good Health about a pioneering procedure called SpaceOAR — a gel implant that protects other organs during treatment. I asked my oncologist about it and she was delighted that I was willing to have it. As it wasn’t possible for me to get this treatment on the NHS in Northern Ireland, I went to the Royal Marsden in London where Dr Vincent Khoo performed the procedure. I began radiotherapy in December 2018 and finished it in February 2019. The cancer has gone and there have been virtually no side-effects or changes to my life. The Daily Mail’s campaign undoubtedly saved me from surgery, serious lifestyle changes or even death if I had not had that initial blood test. Thank you so much and keep up the good work. You really do make a difference to your readers’ lives.
TERRY McBRIDE, Ballycastle, Co. Antrim.