The Institute of Cancer Research posted on LinkedIn:
” ՛If I can save even one man from going through what I have, I will do anything I can՛
Dave Bowen was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2019, after taking a test at a health screening event. He was 58 at the time, quite fit and healthy, and didn’t think he had any of the main symptoms of the disease.
՛I received an e-mail with the results of a blood test that had been conducted to assess the levels of a protein called prostate specific antigen (PSA). They used a traffic light system to categorise the results, and my PSA result was red. My score was 299.4. For a man my age, it should have been 4.0 or below. I started shaking, almost going into shock. I read the e-mail again. ‘It must be a mistake’, I thought.՛
Dave found his treatment ‘hard and unrelenting’. He was proud to participate in the STAMPEDE trial, which aimed to investigate the best treatment for men with newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer, and says further research is needed to find better ways to test for and treat prostate cancer.
՛We also need more accurate and effective ways of diagnosing men at an early stage.
It’s been over six years since I was diagnosed – so I’ve now made it beyond the three-to-five-year prognosis I was originally given. Now when I’m asked about the cancer, I say, ՛It’s just sleeping.՛ Sometimes people say to me, ՛You must be pleased it’s gone՛, and I think, ՛Errrr, no it hasn’t!՛ Because to me, it is just sleeping. And I hope it stays that way.
No one on this earth knows what’s round the corner. I am determined, to the bitter end, to just live life to the full – after all, life is for living.՛
Dave shares his story as part of our appeal to help every man with prostate cancer live longer, healthier lives.
Read Dave’s full story․”
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