Doncaster man who battled prostate cancer urges everyone to get checked

Ben Thomas, from Bawtry, found out he had prostate cancer in 2020 after persisting with doctors to get a blood test.

He went through 18 months of cancer treatments alone, not telling anyone of his diagnosis until he received the all-clear a year ago – September 6 marked a whole year of being cancer fee.

The anniversary of him being cancer-free has led him to raise awareness for the issue, urging all men to get tested even if they have no symptoms.

He said: “To every bloke out there, contact your doctor, a test only takes five minutes of your time. And ladies should tell their brothers, partners and family to do the same, you won’t regret it.”

Ben chose not to tell his family at the time as he didn’t want to worry his four children, one of whom was pregnant.

He apologised after, although says he sticks by his decision.

He went through 37 rounds of radiotherapy, each time telling his family he was going shopping.

He also spoke about how doctors at first dismissed his worries, and urged people to be persistent if they have concerns.

While the doctors first told him everything was fine, his blood test showed that his prostate cancer was actually at stage three.

In an ideal world, he said, men would be able to go for routine tests once a year, to catch signs of cancer before it becomes aggressive.

Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 men in the UK.

Visit https://prostatecanceruk.org/

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