Cancer victim has breakthrough op

A Shropshire man who had pioneering prostate cancer surgery, is urging other men to be aware of the disease - and the different treatments that are available.

When risk engineer David Platt, 55, was diagnosed with cancer he thoroughly researched all the options and chose innovative nerve-sparing keyhole surgery, performed by only a handful of surgeons in the UK.

The operation, carried out in March by consultant urologist Alan Doherty of the Birmingham Prostate Clinic, offered Mr Platt the best chance of beating cancer and returning to a normal life.

Mr Platt, who lives near Ludlow, says he first became aware that something was wrong when he was getting up two or three times a night to go to the toilet.

His GP performed an examination and suggested a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test, which indicates whether there is a risk of prostate cancer.

Mr Platt's PSA was slightly raised, which indicated that he was at risk from prostate cancer, so a prostate biopsy was performed.

This confirmed that he had prostate cancer.

"There is a misconception that prostate cancer is an 'old man's disease' and at the age of 54, I didn't think it would happen to me," said Mr Platt.

"But I'm the sort of person who finds comfort in facts and figures.

"I decided to find out as much as I could myself, so I could make an informed decision."

He believes that a lot of men are embarrassed by the issue of prostate cancer and so delay seeking help.

"I also think many men don't know where the prostate is and what it does," he added.

"There needs to be an education programme."

Keyhole surgery for this condition is challenging and complex, because the prostate is hard to reach and relatively large for such techniques.

But patients recover far more quickly than from traditional procedures because there is less trauma and blood loss.

Mr Platt said: "I think that there should be more information available for men concerning prostate cancer.

"It is not an old man's disease and it is very important that anyone diagnosed with prostate cancer finds out all about the different treatments as soon as possible."

By Dave Morris