Earlier this month, I had my first sessions of radiotherapy for prostate cancer. This is the second part of my ‘treatment plan’ having started hormone therapy earlier in the year.
My prostate cancer journey started in Oct. 2025 when I had Covid & then a urine infection. Things weren’t right after treatment so the medical practitioner at my local surgery organised a PSA test-‘just to check’.
The result came back as high & it was higher in a retest a week later. This started me on the ‘Cancer Pathway’. Since then my treatment & care have been from the Oncology department at Great Western Hospital (GWH) and the Oxford University Hospital Radiology Cente at GWH. It has been brilliant.
I had an MRI scan on Christmas Eve which was inconclusive & was offered a biopsy.
The results came on 3rd February, my 70th birthday! It showed a small but aggressive tumour. I was stunned. I felt I was looking down on something happening to someone else.
I was fortunate to have a choice of treatments. I decided that hormone therapy & radiotherapy was the better option for me, rather than an operation. I was given lots to read & links to key people at the hospital.
I started the medication & things moved quickly with a PET scan to see if the cancer had spread, which fortunately it hadn’t.
I started monthly appointments with the truly excellent consultant at the OUH @ GWH. I was given an additional drug to take & over the next 3/4 months these have consistentky reduced my PSA.
Now it’s twenty sessions of radiotherapy over four weeks.
There will be hormone drugs to continue to take as I move forward but a massive thank you to OUR WONDERFUL, DIVERSE & AMAZING NHS. The early diagnosis and speed of treatment mean I have a chance of the prostate cancer being cured.
There is so much more to talk about & share, which I might do elsewhere but please gentlemen, GET YOUR PSA CHECKED NOT JUST ONCE BUT REGULARLY – ASK FOR IT.
If your GP isn’t able or willing to do it, many pharmacies are now offering it as a service.
Remember, this isn’t just about you-think about your family and friends.
It is beyond comprehension, why men are not given this simple blood test on a regular basis. We know it may not be exact, but it is the best thing we have, & it can & does make a difference.
I understand that there are concerns that men will be worried if the PSA result is raised. Yes, maybe, but it provides the chance of early detection and getting something done about it, whether that is treatment or monitoring.
Prostate Cancer UK are a brilliant organisation providing support, research, a 30 second risk checker, specialist nurses & so much more.
As with so many of these wonderful organisations they are a charity & rely on fundraising & donations.
My eldest daughter, Ellie has committed to run her first ever half-marathon in October in the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London in October. She will be fund raising for Prostate Cancer UK. This is the link to her fundraising page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/royal-parks-half-marathon-2026-1276512
Please have a look. It would be brilliant if you feel you can sponsor her.
Bill Jerman- My Prostate Cancer Journey 
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