The link above will take you to a 2017 recording of a  Shropshire radio interview between  Eric Smith and a gentleman called Harold Taylor.  For those who are not familiar with Harold's story, he was one of the 420- plus men who came to our prostate testing in March. As a direct result of that testing he was referred for further tests and subsequently discovered that he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Harold has now completed a course of hormone treatment followed by radiotherapy at the Lingen Davies unit at Shrewsbury Hospital. And when he saw his oncologist  on 22nd January he learned that the treatment had been successful and that he would now need only 3 monthly monitoring by blood tests.

That is an amazing result but, as you will hear in the interview, things could have been so very different had Harold not decided to join the queue for testing back in March 2017. Harold and his wife Jackie, shown pictured above, have retained regular contact with us since March and they are both dedicated to waving the banner very publicly for PSA testing. The interview with Eric Smith was part of that and so too has been Jackie's correspondence with with MP Lucy Allen which was designed to secure Ms Allens support in Parliament for a programme of universal PSA testing in the UK. There is no clear sign to date of any success resulting from this correspondence but it has certainly not been for the want of trying on Jackie's part. her most recent email reads as follows:

Hi Lucy.

Re our previous emails and your letters regarding PSA screening for our men.

Did you talk manage to talk about it at a men's health debate in Parliament?

We saw the oncologist Monday 22nd, good news!!
7 and a half weeks of radiotherapy has been successful.

Harolds
PSA at diagnosis in March 2017was a red alert of 12 Next PSA test was 0.05 after hormone therapy.
PSA test last week 6 weeks after radiotherapy is
now .02

He will have a PSA blood test every 3 months for the following year.

I asked would there be follow up CT scans or MRI scans to check for cancer, we were informed that a PSA test is all that's required to detect cancer cells. If his PSA rises then further tests are done i.e.: scans.

My point is, can you see how important and effective PSA tests are Lucy.

Please continue to press this issue for our men, PSA tests are saving lives, my husband is proof of this.
Many men who attended the PSA testing in Madeley last year 2017 we're attending the Lingen Davies Centre with Harold to have their treatment.

How much more can I implore to you to persist with our request to have a Prostate National Screening Test in place for our men.

Too many men are dying from this awful disease Lucy.

Many Thanks,

Kind Regards

Jackie and Harold Taylor

 

Ironbridge Lions and Rotary clubs will be holding their next prostate testing session in the Anstice memorial Hall on 26th March this year. As last time the testing will be offered free of charge and without the need for any appointment. We remain convinced that this testing does - and will - save lives; Harold Taylor's case is not an isolated example.

 

The final word in this piece should go to Jackie - taken from a very recent email which meant a great deal to those involved in organising and delivering the prostate testing programme:

"Please pass on our sincere best wishes to all your colleagues in the Lions and Rotary clubs and thank you so much for helping us to have a future; thank heavens for your PSA events"