Prostate cancer: 'I was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a golf injury - it was an absolute shock'

• Peter Ellis, 69, from Manchester tells us about his experience finding out he had prostate cancer after an unlucky golf injury.
• He had no symptoms of prostate of cancer, describing his diagnosis as “an absolute shock”.
• One in eight men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with the risk even higher for Black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer.

A 69-year-old grandad from Manchester has spoken about his “absolute shock” of being diagnosed with prostate cancer after experiencing a golf injury.

Peter Ellis had no symptoms and was diagnosed completely by chance. Describing himself as “the most unluckiest luckiest Captain at my golf club”, he ruptured his Achilles playing golf in June 2022.

When seeking care for the injury he was also diagnosed with high blood pressure and requested a PSA blood test from his GP which detected something abnormal and prompted further tests.

In October 2022, Peter was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 67.

“My golf club were advertising that they were going to do prostate tests,” Peter recalls.

He mentioned it to his GP and they did a PSA test with his next blood test, things quickly escalated. Three days after the blood test, they asked him to come in to the surgery.

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Peter received his prostate cancer diagnosis two days later. He said: “It had spread to just outside my prostate, so they then said to start on hormone injections.” He was on the injections for two years and also received 20 days of radiotherapy.

He described his diagnosis as “an absolute shock”, however thankfully the treatment that he has received has stopped the cancer and his family have been able to offer him support during this time, with Peter describing his wife, Linda as his rock.

He added: “My family are the most important. The hospitals I visited have told me of the support services I can also visit but at the moment I am happy with the positive outlook I have with my wife, family and friends.”

One in eight men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with the risk even higher for Black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer. The statics from Prostate Cancer UK show that more than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year on average, totalling 144 men a day.

Peter is urging anyone who is at risk to get tested. He said: “In my golf club, there’s 200 senior members there, one in eight of us are going to get prostate cancer. As it happens, as soon as you say in the golf club ‘I’ve got prostate cancer’, someone will say, ‘oh so and so had that’. It’s out there, but people don’t talk about it as much as they should.”

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer often does not cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown, with Peter not experiencing any of the signs and symptoms prior to his diagnosis.

Symptoms of prostate cancer according to the NHS include:

• needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
• needing to rush to the toilet
• difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
• straining or taking a long time while peeing
• weak flow
• feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
• blood in urine or blood in semen

How can you test for prostate cancer?

There is no single test for prostate cancer, but a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test which is available from your GP can help indicate if there are high levels of PSA in the blood, which may suggest you have a problem with your prostate and trigger further investigation.

Prostate Cancer UK is launching a campaign this autumn to highlight the worrying trend that is seeing many men receive their cancer diagnosis completely by chance, often when it has spread and become harder to treat.

The campaign will also raise awareness of new research which will be funded by Prostate Cancer UK and aims to give men and doctors more certainty when it comes to prostate cancer. The new £1.5 million AI and genetics project could help identify which men have the deadliest prostate cancers early and save their lives.

You can find out more out about Prostate Cancer UK’s vital research and how to donate at Prostate Cancer UK.