Shrewsbury Town Community Corner: Get tested, fellas – and put the boot into cancer early!

The sessions not only provide a physical stimulus but also a supportive network of participants with shared experiences.

The story below is of Alan Roberts and Ken Andrews who are both living with Prostate cancer. They found each other through the power of the football community and have become best friends; as well as a vital pillars of support for each other, as they go through their cancer treatments. This August they were able to meet for the first-time face to face, along with STiTC’s health activator Kim Bebbington.

Ken: Well 12 months ago I was at work, working three days a week, and I had a pain down my left leg. I phoned the doctor, who diagnosed it as sciatica and treated me as such, but the pain didn’t go away.

I was sent for blood tests and my count was 534, so I knew I was in trouble. Me and the wife went down the hospital and I had a biopsy done and the results of this proved that I had prostate cancer. After this I went for X-rays and these proved that it had gone to my bones and I’ve got to live with that now. I’m really glad I met Alan. My daughter found him on Facebook, and we’ve been really good friends, talking to each other ever since.

Alan: Well Kelly (Ken’s daughter) messaged me and I didn’t know who she was, but she told me that unfortunately her father had been diagnosed with the same condition as me. I was using Facebook to talk about what I was going through and the walking/cycling I was doing, and that’s how Kelly found me.

We’ve helped each, because you know, you don’t always have good news, sometimes you have news you don’t want, and you need somebody then to crack a joke, make you smile, and then you battle on again.

We had two things that bonded us, one that we liked (football) and one that we didn’t like (cancer).

Kim: So your message for every man is…

Ken: Be tested.

Kim: Is there anything to be scared about getting tested?

Ken: Definitely not.

Alan: Go! Men don’t like to talk about these things. Men do not like to go to the doctors. And now we have season tickets at the hospital!

Kim: So with community programmes, like Kick Cancer at Shrewsbury Town in the Community, how has the football club supported you?

Alan: They’ve offered support and help, that’s a big part for me…. Oh, I think its excellent, I look forward to it. You can meet other people who are in a similar position to yourself, so you don’t feel that you’re isolated or on your own.

Ken: At one time I didn’t think I would be here to see the beginning of the season, but I thought ‘You’ve gotta be here’.