Kay pleads with men: 'Get yourselves tested for prostate cancer'
WEDNESDAY: A widow whose husband 'crumbled' before dying from prostate cancer four months ago is pleading with men to get themselves tested for the disease.
Kay Forsyth (67), of Wymondham Way, Melton, had to watch John's battle with the illness despite him having none of the common symptoms.
She said: "John didn't have the urinary symptoms you hear about and I want men to know they can get prostate cancer even if they don't have obvious signs of it. He was such a manly man and it was horrific watching him crumble before my eyes."
Mr Forsyth was diagnosed with prostate cancer after complaining of lower back pain following a bunion operation. Mrs Forsyth said: "He thought the pain in his back was because he had been walking oddly to ease the pain in his foot."
After the operation, when his back pain did not improve, Mr Forsyth was sent for a bone scan and PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test which revealed he had prostate cancer and that it had spread to his pelvis.
Despite hormone treatment following his March 2008 diagnosis which brought Mr Forsyth's PSA down to normal levels, a year later he was experiencing pain in his shoulder.
Another bone scan at Leicester Royal Infirmary revealed the cancer had spread up his back. Two years later and after treatment including chemotherapy, Mr Forsyth died aged 64 on Valentine's Day this year leaving behind two daughters, a son, six grandchildren and a great granddaughter.
Mrs Forsyth said: "I miss him very much and do not want anyone else or their family to go through this if it can be avoided by being caught early.It was our retirement and we should have been enjoying ourselves."
But it is not just her husband's death that has spurred Mrs Forsyth to make men more aware of PSA testing.
Prior to Mr Forsyth's illness, one of his fishing buddies was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, just three weeks ago, the third member of the fishing trio - and Mrs Forsythe's brother-in-law - was also diagnosed with the disease.
Mrs Forsyth said: "It is such a shock that all three men who were friends and fished lakes together have got prostate cancer. It has made me realise how it really is the male equivalent of breast cancer."
Common symptoms of prostate cancer include: needing to urinate frequently, difficulty starting to urinate, straining or taking a long time to finish, or pain when urinating or ejaculating. Less common signs are new pain in lower back, hip or pelvis and rarely, blood in urine.
Mrs Forsyth said: "If John had known about that he would have got tested straight away, but we had no idea."
Many men will not have any symptoms and although there is no national screening for prostate cancer, men over 50 are entitled to ask their GP for a PSA test.
For the majority of men a high PSA will be due to non-cancer problems which may be easily treated, but the risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age and family history.More than 450 men in Leicestershire and Rutland are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
Dr Mike McHugh, consultant in public health at NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland, said: "Although there are many advantages to a man knowing his PSA level, there can also be disadvantages to being tested.
"Even by testing PSA levels the test can miss cancer and provide a false reassurance, or even lead to unnecessary worry if levels are raised and there is no cancer, or if it finds a slow-growing cancer that may never cause any symptoms or shorten life.
"By the age of 80 approximately 80 per cent of men will have some cancer cells in their prostate. In contrast around one in 26 men (3.8%) in England and Wales will die from prostate cancer."
* For more information visit the Prostate Cancer Charity at www.prostate-cancer.org.uk or call the helpline on 0800 074 8383. Also see www.nhs.co.uk
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Weather for Melton
Wednesday 08 September 2010
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