A SCOTTISH survivor of prostate cancer is encouraging men to get checked for prostate cancer during this Men’s Health Awareness Month.
Alan Kerr, 66, from Dunblane was first made aware of a potential symptom of prostate cancer while on holiday in Tenerife in 2019.
Having fallen ill with gastroenteritis, he went to a GP in Spain where doctors told him he had a raised prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.
It’s normal for gentlemen to have small amounts of PSA in their blood but as this rises it can be a symptom of prostate cancer.
Speaking to The National, Kerr said: “I had no idea what PSA was and that took them quite aback because apparently, in Spain, every man over the age of 55 is offered a PSA test on an annual basis, the same way women have a breast cancer screening.
“They told me to go home and get checked by my local GP. They told me it was fine for my age but a consultant told me to go back in 12 months.”
However, owing to the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns, Kerr said it became more difficult to get an appointment with a GP.
“Being a typical central Scotland man, my attitude was this will be fine and it won’t be a problem so I left it for another 18 months”, Kerr explained.
He continued: “When I went back, they said the PSA level was much higher and they needed to get me checked.
“The hospital were great with me and a couple of weeks later I went back in and while they were doing it the consultant told me I had prostate cancer.
“In my prostate, I had some slow-growing cancer cells and some medium-speed ones. They said the medium ones were worrying but that the cancer was still in my prostate.”
He eventually went for brachytherapy which has involved having small, radioactive seeds implanted into the prostate to kill off the cancer.
As it was caught early, Kerr said his PSA levels have now returned to normal.
He said: “The side effects were minimal for brachytherapy so I decided to do that and ended up getting the operation in December last year.
“I was told it was one of the best examples of the treatment working. I made the comment to him that at no time was I worried because I went and caught it early.
“It hadn’t gone beyond the prostate which is a big thing so I never thought it was life-threatening although I possibly should have.
“I think having a positive attitude helped me through it and because the side effects were minimised and I was able to get on with life.”
Now, Kerr wants to speak openly about his cancer journey in order to encourage all men to go and get a PSA test.
New research has shown that prostate cancer deaths tripled in the first year of the pandemic particularly when the cancer is diagnosed at a later stage – which is when the illness is often less treatable.
He believes people in his generation are still reluctant to talk about their health even if it could be lifesaving.
He added: “The younger generation is better at it than mine. People my age think, ‘go to the GP, no, I’ll be fine and soldier through’ which isn’t good.
“The reality is the GP wants you to go there. They want you to be checked out. We now have Movember which a load of my friends are growing moustaches for.”
Kerr has also called for PSA tests to be widely accessible for men over the age of 50.
He continued: “There is a growing awareness of it. But I’ve spoken to probably about 90 guys through playing golf and asked them if they have had their PSA checked, so many have said they haven’t.
“The vast majority didn’t know anything about it and in my own wee small way I want to help more people to be aware of it.”
