A week later I saw the consultant Urologist. He repeated the tests and advised me, “You have advanced prostate cancer… stage 3 or stage 4… maybe 6-8 years to live… maybe longer as treatments are improving”. I immediately thought that he was talking bullshit. How could he know this until more in-depth tests were completed? The consultant advised me that my high levels of fatigue and recently developing back pain were owing to the cancer. I accepted that bit.

I was started on a course of hormone suppressants (tablets and implants). These would block the testosterone production that was fuelling the growth of the cancer. Over the next week or so, I had a CT scan (abdomen and chest) and a nuclear bone scan (whole skeleton). These would show if the cancer had metastasised and spread to other parts. A transperineal biopsy was also arranged. This will allow the laboratory to learn if I have a “pussy cat or a tiger of a tumour”. Chemo and/or radiation therapy would follow in due course.