John’s Story

I'm a Physiotherapist.

My journey started at Hope Hospital Salford when a nurse
practitioner stood up in a lecture and said,:

“The biggest cause of death in men is that they don’t have a
partner”

He explained that, they ignore their symptoms until it is
too late.

As I was sat there and,

1. Did not have a partner

And

2. Had been meaning to go the Doctor due to what I thought
was age related “men’s problems.”

I felt that he was talking to me and me alone.

So off I popped to my GP and negotiated a PSA test as I was
too young according to the GP. It came back as a score which raised the GP’s
eyebrow enough to refer me the urology team in Burnley under the care of Mr Mohan-
Pillai -a quite gentle and articulate man.

I suppose if one has a prostate problem it is quite an
advantage to have a gentle man on your side so to speak.

The outpatient team performed tests on the 25th November 2019 on my 59^th birthday of last year - a great birthday treat- and I was consequently diagnosed with
Prostate Cancer.

I think fundamentally the hardest part of this was telling
my children I had a Cancer.

Everyone is sensitised to the “C” word.

There is nothing you can do to desensitise it or console
them.

I underwent robotic prostatectomy on the 29^th
January and following that I had a tough two weeks of post-operative recovery.

At five weeks I was back in the gym.

And then Covid
happened.

Brilliant! My gym was closed down and my social isolation
began.

The hidden costs to Covid will be the mental health
ramifications to all of us. It was the mental challenge of recovery I struggled
with more than the physical one.

My mates sorted me out with that one though. Never
undervalue friendship.

Walking, golf and cycling became my principle exercise.

And that’s when I met Bill Johnston, a Health and Wellbeing
advisor with East Lancs. Health Care Trust.

We sat down and had a very honest debate on what I wanted to
do and how achievable it was.

I wanted to get back to work and I wanted to look “fit as”
for my 60^th Birthday.

And at that point Bill said:

“You’re very good at keeping promises to patients and
friends and family,

So why can’t you keep the promises to yourself?”

This was a bit of a mental slap in the face really. Just the
type of thing I needed.

I was, and still am, eating anything green or red- or in

other words just sticking to the outside aisles at Aldi.

My water intake increased

I was performing four miles of low aerobic fat burning

exercise a day-walking in other terms.

I lost two pounds a week for twelve weeks.

If you take one thing away from this story it is this, you
have to realise that a healthy lifestyle starts in the kitchen-not in the gym.
What you put in is infinitely more important to what you put out. So here we are

Twelve weeks after the exercise challenge and virtually
twelve months after diagnosis.

Stronger, fitter and quite a bit lighter I can tell you.

If I can do it you can do it. The secret is positivity.

I am and always will be, though, eternally grateful to one particular
Nurse Practitioner with one message in Hope Hospital.

“Go see your Doctor; it’s what they’re there for”