Lawyer ‘wouldn’t have seen 60’ without a routine test that discovered prostate cancer

A top lawyer whose prostate cancer was discovered by chance in a routine health test is urging all men over 50 to get themselves checked out for the illness.

Ian Edwards, 53, said he had no symptoms whatsoever of the cancer and the condition was only flagged up when his blood pressure was measured.

Mr Edwards, a director at north Wales and Cheshire solicitors firm Allington Hughes, underwent surgery at a London hospital to have his prostate removed after his shock diagnosis.

And as well as raising money for the Prostate Cancer UK charity, Ian is urging men to take a simple blood test which can indicate whether they might have the disease.

Ian, who lives in Llay near Wrexham, is a prominent member of the Wrexham Business Professional organisation and a raffle at the group’s Christmas dinner saw more than £1,200 raised for Prostate Cancer UK.

Awareness

Ian thanked everyone who contributed to the raffle and said it was important to raise awareness of prostate cancer – and for men to get themselves checked out, even if they’re fearful of the outcome.

Urging men to contact their GP, he said: “If it’s there, it’s there. Not having the test isn’t going to change that, in fact it might make it too late when you do find out.”

The husband and father said a nurse had told him he “may not have seen 60” if the cancer had not been caught when it was.

The health issue was initially flagged up by Ian’s GP surgery after a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test was carried out.

High levels of PSA in a blood test may be a sign of a prostate condition.

Symptoms

Ian said: “I was told about four years ago that I have got high blood pressure.

“So as well as being on medication, I get blood tests about every six months.

“In October last year I got a text from the GP surgery saying they had made me an appointment and I had to go in, they didn’t tell me why.”

Symptoms of prostate cancer include trouble urinating, frequent or painful urinating, bone pain, and blood in the urine or semen – none of which Ian had.

He said: “I hadn’t been suffering any of the symptoms of prostate cancer, I had none of the classic symptoms you are told to look out for. So I went in, and they told me the PSA levels were a bit high.

“They did an internal examination and said the prostate seemed a bit lop-sided and they sent me to Wrexham Maelor Hospital for a biopsy.

“Then I get a message to have an appointment to get the results of the biopsy, and Wrexham Maelor told me there was cancer there.

“They described it as ‘intermediate’ risk and they said they would call me back in a couple of days to let me know what the suggested course of treatment would be.

“They said the suggested course of treatment would be the complete removal of the prostate at a hospital in London.

“They said I was free to explore other options so I took a look at radiotherapy first.
“I had an appointment at Glan Clwyd Hospital and the radiotherapists there said it had to be surgery, and so I was referred to University College Hospital in London.

“Then when I am on holiday in Tenby in July I get a phone call saying they had looked at the MRI scan and the biopsy again and they said there was probably more cancer there.

“They said they were definitely recommending removal because they had taken 13 samples in the biopsy and there was cancer in nine of them.

“I went to University College Hospital in London in September, they put you to sleep, they take it out.

“They said the cancer had got right to the perimeter, so they had to take out more of the surrounding tissue than they wanted to, but they had to.

“I’m not an expert on this, but the nurse I spoke to said ‘you wouldn’t have seen 60 if it hadn’t been caught’.

“So that’s why I keep talking about it. I hadn’t got any symptoms right up until the day I went in.”

Support

Ian, who is married to Delyth and has a 19-year-old son Jamie, said work colleagues and fellow members of the Wrexham Business Professionals organisation had also been very supportive after he informed them of his health battle.

He said: “They have all been really good, very supportive, and they’ve been asking how I am. They have been asking about prostate cancer. My main message to everyone is to go and get a test.

“There could be people my age who have got it, who haven’t got high blood pressure, who are walking around with it, and who won’t find out until it is too late.”

Ian said he was still on the long road to full recovery following his cancer treatment.

He said: “I feel tired, I will go home some nights and just go straight to bed.

“Some weekends, if I’ve been working all week, I’ll just spend Saturday and Sunday asleep in bed recovering, and then back to work on the Monday.

“I suppose you can say it doesn’t end with the operation, it starts with that.

“I’ve already been sent follow-up appointments and obviously I will be having PSA blood tests at regular intervals going forward anyway.

“It’s not like it’s all behind you, or that you can put it behind you and move on, it’s still there hanging over you.”