"It was emotional, empowering, and a way to show others what's possible after treatment".

After his brother Paul was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Roy followed his advice and booked a PSA blood test. He had no symptoms, so the diagnosis in December 2023 came as a huge shock.

“I have a strong family history of prostate cancer. But I still didn't expect it to happen to me, especially without symptoms. I'm incredibly grateful to my brother for encouraging me to get checked and have since encouraged many men in my life to get that all important PSA blood test too".

The long wait times between tests stretched up to several months, severely affecting Roy’s mental health, eventually prompting him to pay privately to speed up the process.

“I'd describe myself as a very happy, optimistic person, and can usually find the positives in every situation, but this felt impossible, so I reached out to my GP, who helped me get the support I needed with my mental health”.

Roy eventually had surgery to remove his prostate; however, recovery was much harder than he expected. He found support through meditation, physiotherapy and pelvic floor exercises.

“The operation itself went well. But I wasn't prepared for what came next, particularly around the catheter and the amount of medication to take. I wasn't given enough advice or guidance, and I ended up back in hospital the same day I was discharged, panicking that I'd somehow pulled it out. Those early days of recovery were challenging”.

In 2025 after recovering Roy took on the incredible challenge of completing Run the Month: Marathon Edition!

“I wanted to do something positive with my experience and spread the word about prostate cancer. I signed up for Prostate Cancer UK's "Run the Month" challenge, running throughout January with my family and together we raised over £3,500. It was emotional, empowering, and a way to show others what's possible after treatment, whilst shining a light on the incredible work that Prostate Cancer UK are doing”.