Four years ago, Andrew Williams received the news he had prostate cancer. Reinforcing the message that prostate cancer isn’t an “old man’s disease”, Andrew was just 51 when he was diagnosed.
Read Andrew’s Story in his own words.
“I’d noticed I was going to the loo a lot and decided I should see my GP. They carried out a PSA test, a blood test which measures the levels of prostate-specific antigen, and a quick physical examination. It wasn’t painful; it was just a little uncomfortable. The results came back, and my GP wanted to carry out further tests.
A biopsy at the hospital followed, and I hoped I’d have an enlarged prostate and be cancer-free, but discovered I had three tumours in my prostate.
Fortunately, it was caught early, and I had surgery to have the prostate removed.”
That was in December 2019 and after everything he had been through, he noticed his father was also having symptoms of urinating often.
“He was in his 80s and didn’t want to talk about it. He was diagnosed during Covid and so things were delayed. Unfortunately, he died because of it in November 2021. It had already spread to his bones.”
Andrew believes there is a family history of the disease on his father’s side of the family. With four sons of his own, 27, 25 and twins who are nine years old, he is eager to “hammer the message home.”
“One in eight men in Wales will develop prostate cancer, but this risk rises to one in three with a family history of the disease. I do worry about the next generation, which is why I have made my sons aware that they need to get tested. And in fact, they’ve dropped the testing age to 45 if there is a family history of prostate cancer.”
He has also joined the Carmarthenshire Friends of Prostate Cymru to help raise awareness and “to get people’s attention of the risks. My Dad wasn’t one of the lucky ones. We must catch it early, and that’s why I’ll speak to anyone who’ll listen. It’s important to speak to women too, as they can encourage their friends and family to go get tested.”
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