Max, 54, Southampton

Max is a happily married man with two children. He has a rewarding career as a bank manager in Southampton and likes to spend his weekends on the golf course. In fact, it was on the golf course 4 years ago that he first learnt he had prostate cancer.

“I had just had a routine company medical which showed a slightly elevated PSA (prostate specific antigen) score which I was told could be indicative of the early stages of prostate cancer. My wife was very concerned and insisted that I go to the GP to get it checked out. My GP immediately referred me to a urologist who took a rather painful biopsy.”

The results of the biopsy were due back on the day of an important golf match, so Max left his wife to take the call convinced nothing was wrong. “I will always remember my wife calling me on the first hole with the momentous words – Max, you have cancer”, said Max. “I immediately went into the stereotypic man’s response by denying anything was wrong and carried on playing golf as usual. I even stayed for the prize giving ceremony in the evening.”

When Max got home, he found his wife in tears and he realised the potential severity of his condition. “I decided to take control of this disease and went online to research possible treatment options”, said Max. “I also contacted the Prostate Cancer Charity which had fantastic patient information and were extremely helpful. The treatment I decided I wanted was brachytherapy, a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ which uses radioactive seeds to destroy the cancer cells. Results showed that the side effects from brachytherapy were less severe in terms of incontinence and impotence than traditional surgery and that was very important to me as I was only 50 at the time.”

Max had his brachytherapy in Guildford performed by Professor Stephen Langley. “I was slightly sore and uncomfortable afterwards but had no side effects and was back at work in 2 days. So far there is no sign of the cancer returning.”

Max actually had to go to the USA 4 months after his treatment. “It was rather amusing”, he said, “as the radioactive seeds were still active and I had to have a letter from Professor Stephen Langley at St Luke’s Cancer Centre to get me through airport security – there was no way I wanted another body search!!”

Please Note: The picture is a model and is not the patient represented in the story.