Before he knew he had an incurable form of prostate cancer, Nick Lambert was a "bit blasé" about the disease.
But now he's joining figures including TV's Jeff Stelling to back a national campaign urging people to check if they might be at risk.
Nick, 70, is a retired chartered accountant from Jesmond. Though his dad developed prostate cancer, he told ChronicleLive how he'd underestimated the disease.
"I was aware that my dad had had prostate cancer, but he had got it a lot older than I am now. He died with it, rather than from it, but I now know prostate cancer is a killer. I was a bit blasé because of my dad's experience."
Go here for the latest NHS news and breaking North East public health news
Prostate Cancer UK and the NHS have launched a campaign to encourage men to use the charity's 30-second online risk checker to find out whether they should be getting themselves tested for the disease.
This comes as NHS figures show there are expected to be around 14,000 men with undiagnosed prostate cancer around England.
That's because during the Covid-19 pandemic the number of people coming forward to their GP with symptoms has fallen - and in the North East the figures show 3,000 fewer people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer compared to before the pandemic.
NHS research has previously shown that around half of people delayed coming forward to their GP during the height of the pandemic because they didn’t want to burden the health service.
Health service figures show upwards of 58,000 men in England have begun treatment for prostate cancer since April 2020, but that’s 14,000 fewer than would have been expected.
Nick is one man who did go to his GP - but he only did so after spotting a reminder on the emails of one his fellow members of the Tyneside Ramblers group.
"We are talking about back in spring last year," he said. "We were well into the pandemic and living under lockdown restrictions of course.
"We had recently got new chair - that's Mark Nugent. He's a prostate cancer sufferer too and he always puts a footer on his emails urging people to get themselves tested - he particularly points people in the direction of the risk checker.
"I had no symptoms of prostate cancer, and I felt physically fine. In previous years, I'd had discussion about prostate cancer with my wife, and perhaps gone to check what to watch out for, but everything talks about 'changes' - and I never really had any.
"But when I thought about Mark's story - and he's such an advocate for getting checked - I decided to do it."
With the first two questions on the risk-checking tool highlighting how age and family history of prostate cancer mean people are at higher risk, Nick took a trip to his GP, where he said he "put his foot down" and asked to be tested.
"It came back with a really high PSA level - 137," Nick contined. "I had no idea that was high but most people are four or below - so my reading was of a different scale entirely. Since then I have been in the very good hands of the Freeman Hospital."
Someone's Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) level is a guide for their risk of cancer.
Further testing at the Freeman Hospital - where Nick said staff had been "second-to-none" - discovered Nick had "locally advanced" prostate cancer, but luckily it had not spread into his bones.
Though hormone therapy helped reduce his PSA levels, Nick added: "The next big blow was to learn that my cancer is actually incurable. I've never had anything before that I wasn't going to be able to get better from. But it is at least something that can be contained and managed.
"The message I would like to get across to all men is to use the risk checker, especially when they hit their 50s. If I had been tested before I might have been able to catch it before the cancer spread."
With his cancer kept in check, the father-of-three is now looking forward to his 50th wedding anniversary - he's been married to wife Alison since 1975 - and to enjoying life with his children and grandchildren.
But, reflecting on the fact that prostate cancer cases - like many other illnesses - hit the North East harder than other parts of the country, Nick said this was disappointing - and there was one important way to tackle this.
"It's just so vital to encourage every man over the age of 50 to get checked."
Nick and Mark have become close since first corresponding about cancer - and Mark, 62 and from Wallsend, added: "I’m passionate about raising awareness about prostate cancer following my own diagnosis.
"Whether I’m sharing Prostate Cancer UK beer mats in the pub, wearing my 'Man of Men' badge or including messages about the online risk checker in my email signatures – I know this makes a difference, and has encouraged friends like Nick to take action on their health."
Mark himself was first diagnosed in 2018.
Others to back the campaign include North East-born football personality Jeff Stelling - who has raised more than £1.4m for Prostate Cancer UK through his "March for Men" walking marathons. Jeff explained: "I'm proud of my North East roots, so hearing that so many men in the region haven’t started treatment for prostate cancer is really concerning to me, and it’s so important we all act now to change that scenario.
"Men can be stubborn and think ‘it won’t happen to me’ but prostate cancer doesn’t discriminate.
"It’s so important that men - and their loved ones – take action to make this disease one that men and their families no longer fear.”
Nicola Tallett, acting chief executive at Prostate Cancer UK added: "Although thousands of men are still being treated each month, if things don’t change soon, the number of men missing out will continue to grow."
She said the charity had heard from men who had been reluctant to "bother" their GPs - and she said it was key to raise awareness of the disease, which will affect one in eight men over their lifetimes.
Prof Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer for the NHS in England, said: "I urge you to use the Prostate Cancer UK risk checker today – it is a quick and easy way to understand your risk of prostate cancer and how you can take further action if you are at risk."
Check your risk using Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker at prostatecanceruk.org/riskcheck Learn more about the campaign on social media using#MenWeAreWithYou
