Two prostate cancer survivors in the Highlands have shared their personal stories to encourage others to act on health concerns.
Colin Thompson, 61, from Fortrose on the Black Isle, and Stephen Bird, 67, from Ardgay in Sutherland, have been able to describe their journey back to full health – and they want to change the way cancer is viewed.
Both men were diagnosed early after mentioning to their GP their need to go to the loo more frequently, and have since undergone successful treatment.
The pair decided to share their stories in support of the a new nation-wide campaign titled ‘Survivors’, which aims to empower people to take responsibility and get potential signs or symptoms checked with their GP.
Five years on from his diagnosis, Mr Thompson is now back to running the hotel he owns with his wife and is grateful to be able to see his family grow up.
He said: “I put my frequency of peeing down to the cold weather and getting older. When I talked to my GP, he gave me a blood test and then I was sent for a biopsy. A week later I was told I had prostate cancer. When I was sent for an MRI I felt like a bit of a fraud, as other than going to the toilet a lot, I felt completely fine.
“The tumour was bigger than they had initially thought, so I’m so glad I went to the doctors when I did. I hate to think what would have happened if I’d left it any longer.”
Meanwhile, Mr Bird was first diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in September 2009 after visiting the doctor about an unrelated matter. After years of monitoring, doctors found in November 2012 that the cancer was beginning to grow, resulting in him making the choice to have it removed.
Mr Bird stressed the importance of taking action early. He added: “I can’t stress enough how important it is to go to the doctors if you’ve noticed anything out of the ordinary. It will most likely be nothing serious at all, but going and getting checked will put your mind at ease at least.
“If I can encourage just one person who is worried about a symptom to go to their doctor by supporting this campaign and sharing my story then it’s worthwhile.”