The hidden cancer

DESPITE there being 250,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK it is thought of as “the hidden disease” due to a lack of awareness.

Richard Hooton talks to one couple calling for more publicity and health chiefs fighting the disease.

WHEN Phil Delaney started suffering aches and pains in his shoulder and back he put it down to general wear and tear.

But after visiting his doctor in July last year he was shocked to discover that he had grade four aggressive prostate cancer.

The Chronicle reported how family and friends rallied round Phil (53) and raised money to help him fulfil a wish list of adventures after he was told the cancer was terminal.

He and wife Tina renewed their wedding vows in Mexico, and he treasured a trip to Cheltenham Races to watch the Gold Cup and a helicopter ride.

The Shaw couple have also wanted to help others and raise awareness of the disease. They have donated money to the Oldham branch of the Prostate Cancer Support Group in appreciation of the help the charity gave them.

Tina is now calling for men to be given routine checks.

She said: “A lot of men don’t have the symptoms or don’t think they have them. They go to the doctors with something else and they have to have a blood test and when they get the results it comes up.

“With Phil he had a lot of back and shoulder pain but he’s been an industrial roofer all his life and we put it down to that and the cold.”

A soak in the bath and pain relieving gel seemed to ease the discomfort, but when Phil was struggling to go to the toilet they visited his doctor, thinking he may have an infection, only to discover the shocking diagnosis.

Tina said: “A lot of men we see have been recently diagnosed, and we always ask what are their symptoms. But a lot say they didn’t have any. They have a pain in the knees or back and go to the doctors and then find out.

“Breast cancer is seen on TV and on billboards. We did not know anything before Phil got diagnosed and there’s nothing really advertising it despite it being a big thing. I think it should get the same exposure as breast cancer.”

Tina, who says Phil had been an inspiration in how he’s dealt with the disease, added: “Phil’s not too bad and is responding well to the treatment.”

In the UK prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men — one man dies every hour of the disease and 35,000 men are diagnosed every year.

More and more men are being affected by the disease, with around four out of 10 men over the age of 70 suffering from it, though most will live out their lives without it affecting them.

Sufferers include Manchester United legend Denis Law, now 70, who was diagnosed in 2003 and underwent successful treatment.




Health chiefs say it is not always easy to diagnose prostate cancer.



The disease does not normally cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to put pressure on the urethra, resulting in problems with urination, but this is not necessarily a sign of it.

Symptoms that it’s progressing to a more serious stage include a loss of appetite, weight loss and constant pain.

A GP can assess the risk of having prostate cancer based on a number of factors.

Local GP Hugh Sturgess, who is also chair of NHS Oldham’s clinical executive, said: “The 2010 public health report for Oldham shows that between 1996 and 2009, prostate cancer was the third most common cause of cancer deaths in males, leading to 11 per cent of deaths.

“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. It is responsible for a quarter of newly-diagnosed cases of cancer in England and Wales.

“The chances of developing prostate cancer increase as you get older. Most cases develop in men aged 65 or older.

In many cases, prostate cancer will not affect a man’s natural lifespan. Men who have prostate cancer are more likely to die with it rather than of it.”

“It usually progresses very slowly. It can take up to 15 years for the cancer to spread to other parts of the body, and it can be cured when treated in its early stages. Treatments include removing the prostate, hormone therapy and radiotherapy.”

Oldham’s state-of-the-art £17million Christie radiotherapy centre is allowing cancer patients to get vital treatment closer to home and the first patient treated when it opened in March was grandfather of four Jack Horrocks for prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Support offers advice and support to patients and the carers and families of sufferers and can discuss treatment options.




For more information go to the NHS Choices website: www.nhs.uk.