Prostate Cancer Awareness Month: Katikati survivor urges men to get tested

Lawrie Donald urges men over 50 to get regular PSA tests. Photo / Elaine Fisher

“This prostate surgery scar has ruined my bloody bikini line!” Lawrie Donald jokes.

The Katikati local has a good sense of humour about his prostate cancer surgery this year. But that’s thanks to early diagnosis.

It could have been so much worse, he says, because he didn’t notice anything was wrong in the first place.

That’s the thing about prostate cancer, he says.

‘’I had no idea something was wrong, I was fine.’’

Lawrie has been having annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests for the past two decades. In October, his PSA levels were up.

An MRI confirmed he had cancer and a biopsy established it was aggressive.

At first, Lawrie looked into other options but learned two of his uncles died of prostate cancer.

“That made my mind, may as well get it whipped out.”

He was offered surgery in December, but family plans meant he had to put it off until February.

Lawrie said the public system was quick and he had his surgery at Tauranga Hospital. The operation was just an hour and a half.

Two months later his PSA test was clear.

“I was lucky as it was caught early. I’d say to all men, you need to get checked. It’s a simple blood test and the test doesn’t say you have cancer, it just shows if there are changes.

“It’s so easy. Do it every year. Whenever you’re getting a blood test for something, just ask them to tap on a PSA test.

“Now I’m back taking walks in the forest”, he says.

Do a Blue Do

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Prostate Cancer Foundation local support co-ordinators Neil Harray and Rod Calver are encouraging local businesses and organisations to run a Blue Do to help raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in New Zealand. One in eight men will develop it in their lifetime. More than 4000 men are diagnosed every year and about 700 will die of it yearly.

“There is no national screening programme in New Zealand yet, in spite of all the evidence pointing to early detection being able to save lives,” Rod says.

“When men’s prostate cancer is diagnosed too late, the consequences are dire and a horrible death can result.”

Unfortunately, the statistics for Māori and Polynesian men are worse, he says.

Prostate cancer has a family connection, with a much higher risk if brothers, father or uncles have had it.

The effects of having prostate cancer can be devastating on relationships, finances and careers, Rod says.

It is recommended that all men over 50 have an annual prostate check with a PSA blood test and a digital rectal exam. If there is any family history then this testing should begin earlier.

Neil and Rod are happy to talk to men recently diagnosed. A local support group runs meetings every two months and men can also join the weekly Men with Cancer Exercise Class, which is followed with a coffee catch-up.

Rod can be contacted on 027 590 9710.