The Sutton man had no symptoms when he had a PSA blood test during a routine GP appointment
A South London father credits a routine health check with saving his life after it detected prostate cancer – even though he had no warning signs whatsoever.
Peter Ellis, 58, felt perfectly well when he attended a standard “health MOT” back in 2018. His GP recommended having a PSA test, a blood examination that measures prostate-specific antigen levels, ‘just in case’, and he agreed to proceed.
The results showed elevated levels, prompting further investigations. Just one day before turning 50, the dad from Sutton, South London, was diagnosed with stage two prostate cancer. Peter now credits taking the test to saving his life, as he would never have discovered the cancer otherwise.
The telecommunications worker from Sutton said: “Prostate cancer changed my life but more importantly early detection saved it. I had no symptoms. If I hadn’t gone for that test, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I would not have asked for it if the doctor hadn’t suggested it.”
He added: “My first reaction was to sit down and cry. Then it was a case of ‘right lets deal with this.’ That has been my attitude all the way through.”
Peter underwent a prostatectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the prostate gland, which appeared successful for approximately 12 months. Unfortunately, his levels began climbing again, leading to a course of radiotherapy to bring them under control.
Three months afterwards, the levels increased once more, necessitating another round of treatment alongside hormone therapy lasting two years. Today, he is free of cancer and only contending with mild side effects from his treatment.
He said: “It is not pretty and it is not easy. You are relying on yourself, if you don’t do the work then no one else is going to do it for you. It is difficult but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Peter began working as a spokesperson for Prostate Cancer UK shortly afterwards, determined to raise awareness about the PSA test and the absence of symptoms. He has since embarked on independent talks at local libraries, which he finances out of his own pocket.
He is now fundraising to extend his reach to further venues, with an ambitious goal of visiting all 33 London boroughs within 12 months. His primary fundraising effort came in the form of a wing walk on September 18th, during which he was secured to a Second World War biplane hundreds of feet above the ground as it hurtled along at 120 mph.
Through his GoFundMe page, he has raised £3,955 to date.
Peter said: “Everyone does a sponsored walk or a sponsored run. I wanted to do something that was going to catch the imagination. People were quite vocal about me being mad. It got people talking about prostate cancer and what I am trying to do.”
He added: “It took off brilliantly. I never thought it would do anything like that. So many people that I don’t know have sponsored. I am not great at heights funnily enough. I thought I would be a bit nervous once I was strapped up but no, I had a whale of a time.”
Peter says he hopes his presentations can persuade men to seek medical checks even when they feel well, as catching it early is crucial.
He added: “In the early stages of prostate cancer there are no symptoms so you have to be proactive about it. You have to get ahead of it before it gets ahead of you. You have to take care of your own destiny because no one else is going to do it for you.”
You can support Peter’s Gofundme page here.
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