Daily Mail

I HAD IT AT 42, BUT DIDN’T KNOW

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GARY Pettit considers himself to be one of the fortunate ones.

Six years ago, he was offered a private medical by his new employer in the City.

Even though he was just 42, a blood test revealed high levels of PSA – a protein linked to prostate cancer.

‘I had no symptoms and if I had not had that medical it would never have been picked up,’ he said. ‘I consider myself to be very lucky.’ A biopsy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in west London confirmed that he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

A month later, in May 2012, Mr Pettit, 48, from Loughton in Essex, had his prostate removed in an eight-hour operation.

He is now clear of the disease and is not on medication, although he needs regular check-ups, is occasional­ly incontinen­t and has suffered from impotence. With no national screening programme for prostate cancer, most men only have a PSA test if they show symptoms, when it may be too late for effective treatment.

Prostate cancer does not normally cause symptoms until the tumour is large enough to put pressure on the body. This can make patients need the loo more often, or struggle to empty their bladder at all.

Mr Pettit said: ‘There is so much awareness about breast cancer. But there is still a big taboo about prostate cancer.

‘It is a bloke-ish tendency to bury your head in the sand and not talk about it.

‘For me there was no middle ground. I never had symptoms and when I was tested it was quite aggressive, so it was just a case of going into surgery. Some men who have symptoms ignore them. They need to talk about it. What happened to me shows you can come through it.’

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