Five-minute chat that saved my life

Fourteen years on from his prostate cancer diagnosis, Ian Cassels is still clear of the disease and determined to raise awareness among men.

Cassels, from Darvel, Ayrshire, was diagnosed in 2007, aged 60.

“I was a retired firefighter and a football referee so I was relatively fit and healthy,” said Cassels, 75.

“I’d been in about a sore toe and my doctor asked for a chat about my health in general. I told her I had ‘the old man’s problem’, going to the toilet frequently, often having to rush. She told me there might be something wrong with my prostate and did some tests.”

A biopsy confirmed prostate cancer. “The doctor said my prognosis was good as I was young, well 60, fit and healthy and they had caught it before it had spread,” said Cassels, pictured at March For Men walk with wife Allison.

Two months later, he underwent a radical prostatectomy, a procedure to remove his prostate.

“Now, 14 years on, I’m still cancer-free.”

Cassels, who runs a Prostate Cancer UK support group in Kilmarnock, advises men to look at the online risk checker.

“It’s quick to check your risk. Any man in their 40s or 50s with any symptoms or risks, I’d say have a word with your doctor and they can advise you if you need a test or not,” he said. “My son, 45, gets tested every five years.

“I count my blessings I’m still here but if it hadn’t been for a five-minute chat with a doctor things might have been different.”