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By: Sereena Gray[/align]


[align=right]18/07/2005
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Horace Parry is a 41 year old father of two who was diagnosed with the early stages of prostate cancer after a routine test by his doctor last year.

Having lost his father to the disease, it was something he was well acquainted with.

But unlike a lot of other men who find out they have it, he had none of the classic symptoms, which include frequently needing to pass urine - especially during the night, difficulty starting to urinate and taking a long time to finish urinating.

Horace’s cancer was detected after his doctor performed a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which measures the level of this particular protein in the blood.

A raised level may indicate a problem which needs to be investigated by further tests.

“My PSA level wasn’t even very high at all, but they thought they would do a biopsy just to make doubly sure,� he said.

“And then having done the biopsy they found a very small spot of very early cancer in there.

“They said it was probably the same thing that my dad had at my age, but because there were no symptoms at all, he just wouldn’t have known about it.�

In fact, Horace’s dad only found out he had prostate cancer when he started having severe back pains, which indicated the disease had reached an advanced stage.[/align]

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[align=left]Treatment
Horace said that because he witnessed his dad having prostate cancer, he was better prepared to deal with it than if he had had no idea of what it was.

“I think you’re more prepared for it than if you just found out at age 60 or something.

“Obviously you’re not totally happy, but at least you’re not being told you’ve got three years to live or something like that.

“The doctors constantly say if my dad had known earlier on it could have been treated.

“And that’s the way I see it, because it was found out earlier on there are all manner of treatments to sort it out.�

Horace was offered the option of active monitoring, which is observing the cancer to see how it progresses, as some types of prostate cancer are very slow growing and never cause any problems, so treatment is not actually required.

But after extensive searches on the internet looking into the various treatments available Horace chose to have Brachytherapy, which involves implanting radioactive seeds directly into the prostate gland to kill the cancerous cells.

After being treated last December Horace is well and his first six-monthly PSA test shows that his level has not risen anymore and he intends to carry on as normal.

He stated, “Nothing is going on hold because of this.�

Don’t be afraid to get tested[/align]
The primary messages for black men are to find out for themselves the basic facts about prostate cancer, and also for them not to be afraid to visit the doctor should they have any symptoms or concerns.

As in Horace’s case, if prostate cancer has been in the family male relatives should get regular tests.

But for a black man visiting the doctor, allowing him to stick his finger up his anus - which is one of the methods of detection, is difficult, as Horace admits.

“It’s an intrusive test that for most black men is a no-no…that has all kind of connotations – ‘how you let the doctor do this to you, you let the doctor do that’.�

Even so, Horace has a strong word for those who feel squeamish about this.

“God if it’s your health or the doctor’s fingers invading your territory, then it just depends on how much you want to live.�


*Black people in the Leeds area are being encouraged to attend the 'Our health is in our hands' cancer awareness event on 19th June, which runs from 10am - 3pm at the Austin Burke Memorial Centre, 196 Chapeltown Road, Chapel Town, Leeds, LS7 4HZ.

Call The Black Health Initiative for more information on - 0113 307 0300


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