"Just Over a Year On and Cancer Free: My Prostate Cancer Story"

Photo by Louise Adolphsen

It’s been a while since I last dropped a blog, and here is why. It's just over a year ago that I had a prostate cancer diagnosis.

Following treatment and lifestyle changes I am now cancer free!

This is my story.....

Before I start, I would just like to take this moment to thank the NHS and all the staff who looked after me at Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill and at the Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham Palace Road and especially the whole team who works with Professor Hashim Uddin Ahmed. I would also like to thank both Maggie’s Cancer Support and Macmillan Cancer Support Charities for all their help and guidance. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my partner Becca for her continued support and love shown to me throughout this journey. She has been a tower of strength and has stood by my side and even asked the doctors all necessary questions when I didn’t

Thank you Becca xx

I will try to tell a short version of my story but honestly I can’t promise because whatever I write here, will only seem like a small stone that has been dropped in a vast ocean, however I will continue to be committed to keep on spreading the word about prostate cancer. Towards the end of 2025 I got talking to a group that I am associated with at the Self Made Speaking Academy and during one of our many conversations it was mentioned to me that it would be a great idea to tell the world about my story and living with Prostate Cancer, so here I am. I am very happy to share with you that I am now one year cancer free and although it hasn’t always been easy while on this journey, my life gets better everyday.

I have never considered posting about my cancer journey on LinkedIn or other social media sites before as I thought that it wasn't a place to put such things albeit I did post to Facebook but I used the Facebook platform basically to tell my close friends and family as I thought that it was important for them to know why they hadn’t seen me for a while. 

So here goes. Before I got diagnosed I considered myself to be in generally good shape and in relatively good health, I run at least once a week or so and keep fit and my job also helps as it can be taxing at times, both mentally and physically. I have made some major life changes since finding out I had prostate cancer and the first one that I changed was my diet but before my diet change I ate mostly anything and being a chef didn’t help much because I get to taste and sample many different commodities world wide.

Let's take you back to the beginning and my cancer journey started back in April 2024 when I took myself off to the doctor's, to have what I thought was going to be a simple blood test, a quick thing I thought. I took a short drive to the Tessa Jowell Health Centre in East Dulwich in London and waited 10 minutes to be seen. After a short time I was called to a small room, I rolled my sleeve up and then got a little jab in the arm. That was it, as quick as that and then off I popped back to the car park and drove away but little did I know, that test would turn into something that I couldn’t imagine and I just didn’t want to believe, in fact I was in denial for a good few weeks after receiving that dreaded news from my GP when my results came in. It should have only had to wait a week to ten days before I received my results but somewhere between the health centre, my GP’s and a second test, my test results got lost and the system couldn't find it. I don't think AI bots were introduced to any systems back in 2024 but DID I PANIC! Of course not, why would I panic. There was a little bit of waiting that I had to endure though about 3-4 weeks but eventually after many phone calls and long waiting times it was sorted out and the worry was over, or so I thought anyway.

The doctor phoned me. "Hello is that David" Yes I replied "David, it's not good news I'm afraid as it looks like you may have prostate cancer and we need you to have further tests"

What you talking about as I replied back to the doctor. With a short pause he proceeded to repeat what he had just said.

You know a jaw dropping moment when you hear one right, well that is one of those and to add to this was a moment of pure shock all rolled into one.

I told some close friends about my prostate cancer issue and one of them kindly pointed me in the direction of a Harley Street Clinic Doctor to get a second opinion. In that moment my head was spinning and I still didn’t want to believe that I had PC, so I got straight on to it and made contact with him and I am glad that I did.

I have recently spoken to the HSC doctor to ask his permission to add his name to my blog and he gladly obliged. Dr. Mark Walcott is a medical doctor and also practices functional medicine. Functional medicine has a more holistic approach of helping people with rehabilitation. Dr. Mark told me certain things that put me on the right track for prep and post op and ironically, he definitely put me straight on the matter regarding if I had prostate cancer or not. I had further tests with him which helped establish what course of action was best needed to help me. It’s unconventional I know but I had so much going on in my head it felt like it was going to explode. The information he shared with me was so invaluable that I still use it to this very day and I will carry on using it for as long as I am cancer free. 

So with Dr. Mark Walcott, I invested and I went all in and put my body through a deep internal cleanse to release anything and everything that was harbouring in my kidneys, lungs, abdomen, bowels and anywhere else that the critters may be lurking, I also changed my diet to put my body in the best possible shape to bounce back after surgery. 

If I am right to say, we all know that the NHS supplies numerous information booklets that tell you how to deal with all kinds of illnesses as well as different cancers, the booklets tell you what to do and when to do it when your feeling unwell etc, and they are really informative, however they don’t tell you what foods to eat and what foods to stay away from which are linked to cancer and also what supplements and natural remedies to use to keep that cancer away. 

On my first visit to the hospital I was given an A 4 size envelope which was full of those information booklets all related to prostate cancer (see pics attached) and as you can see there was a lot to read.

I spent the next two months going back and forth to Kings College Hospital for more tests. MRI, PSA and then the biopsy under Dr. C Brown. I don't think anything can prepare you for a biopsy, but for future reference what I would recommend is, if you ever have to have one, then ask the team who are looking after you to give you full sedation because you don’t really want to be semi conscious when having this procedure.

After some time had passed I finally received my biopsy results and as it was predicted from my psa test I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Yet again, it sounds daft but from that moment on I was sort of relieved but also very apprehensive at the same time, but hey, at least I knew what the next stages would be and I could stop the constant over thinking of things. I dug deep into learning all about prostate cancer and read every page of those booklets I was given, I then turned to Google to learn what the booklets couldn’t tell me but in the end I had to stop it as I was overloaded with information and some of it I really didn’t need to know. A lot of the information given on Google says you can do this but you can't do that, it may be better to know this but we can't guarantee the outcome, etc, etc. It just became too much to take in so I hit the hand brake and stopped. It was this moment when I decided to also dig deep and get 100% fit and prepare myself for surgery. 

My next visit to Kings College Hospital was to see Dr. Manik the Oncologist, and he gave me even information about all things concerning the pros and cons of Radiotherapy. I have to say, I did feel uncomfortable with that conversation and it didn’t sit well with me, firstly because the doctor used words that sprang straight out from the Greek or Latin word search puzzle and it was really hard to understand. I asked him to break down what he was saying because I can’t speak Greek or Latin. Haha! I sometimes struggle with English too and that's my first language. And secondly I was actually thinking about having radiotherapy as my first choice of treatment, before Prostatectomy. If I am to be honest I was feeling really anxious about the surgery and I still had just under two weeks before my next appointment with the Urologist. 

Now I find this quite funny because just after my last visit I started to receive adverts on Facebook about HIFU (High Intensity Frequency Ultrasound), also known as robotic assisted radical prostatectomy and during this period I decided to reeducate myself and put my head back into the booklets that I was given by the NHS. I picked up the Urinary problems booklet and as I got towards the end I found a tiny piece of information sitting at the bottom of the page and it read, Problems after high-intensity focused ultrasound. Was this a sign I thought because I hadn’t heard of this type of treatment before and must have missed it the first time around. Seeing this sent me in another direction and I started collecting research on it through that trusted search engine called Google and as we all know, when you search for something online the algorithm starts doing its thing and low and behold, before I knew it, information about this ground breaking procedure started popping up in my news feed on Facebook and as adverts on my email account.

I am quite surprised that it wasn’t given its own booklet and was only a small section at the foot of one of the pages but what I found out is that this treatment has only been going for 14 years, therefore it wasn't established as much as both Radiotherapy and Prostatectomy and it is kept mainly to the private sector. While doing my research I realised that I may be able to have this treatment on the NHS, So with my new found knowledge, I attended my second consultation back at Kings College and after hearing what the doctor needed to tell me with concerns about Prostatectomy, I then enquired about HIFU. 

Dr. Brown told me that as long as the cancerous side of my prostate wasn’t touching the membrane wall and it was on the inside (between both testicles) then it would be possible to have HIFU. 

Being able to have the HIFU treatment meant that I was able to keep my prostate and the doctor told me that as they can see the cancer it can be accurately removed. If I were to have a Prostatectomy, they would need to completely remove half of my prostate (Gulp). I also asked him how it would affect me, post of surgery and he told me, by having the HIFU, I may need to have a catheter fitted with a bag strapped to my leg for approximately a fortnight and a balloon will be installed sitting on my bladder to enable me to urinate whilst I heal, hence to say this would have happened if I had a prostatectomy. I had one major question that was in the back of my mind and it had been there from day one. It's the question that you never want to ask but the one that needs to be said and it is what most men who have been sitting in the same seat as myself think. “Will I be to regain erectile function post of surgery”

The doctor told me that I will be okay however it may take a little while to make a full recovery, but be aware, you may also not make a full recovery. “Erectile function depends on good blood flow, healthy nerves, and balanced hormones and these three things respond well to overall lifestyle improvements.”

He carried on “Like you have told me David, you're in good shape so you should be able to bounce back quicker than someone who may be overweight, and you don't smoke so even better. Keeping up with regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management are often enough to improve blood flow and confidence and small and consistent changes can make a big difference.

He went on “If you were to have a prostatectomy you will only be left with one nerve ending which in the grand scheme of things would make your healing process take longer and maybe up to two years, but with the HIFU you would be left with two nerve endings, therefore your rehabilitation will be quicker and you maybe back to your normal self within three to six months.”

“Remember, experiencing some changes is normal, but full function can often return with time and care. Don’t hesitate to talk with your doctor — help and solutions are available.”

In fact when leaving the hospital that day I started to skip up the road in a Morecambe & Wise style. If you know you know.

Another month had passed and I received a letter stating that I had an appointment at Charing Cross Hospital to see if I was eligible to have HIFU. I met with Professor Hashim Ahmed who is one of the country's leading doctors within this field and in that meeting he was told that I would be able to have the treatment under him and I was being transferred to the Charing Cross Hospital. After meeting with Professor Ahmed, myself and my partner Becca took a short walk to Maggie's Charity drop in centre and we spent a while there and had a cup of tea before heading home.

This was a nice day and one for reflection.

I was told not to eat any food 12 hours before surgery and only allowed 1 coffee or Tea up to 2 hours before.

My procedure was a day surgery and on the 24th of October I arrived at 6 am to have my operation. The whole day went really quick, the team put me to sleep and after a few hours in surgery I was awake and it was all done. I was relieved when the surgeon, Professor Shah came to see me to tell me that everything went well and my operation was a 100% success, which is exactly what you want to hear from any doctor post any surgery. He told me that I was strapped with a bag to my hip and catheter fitted to enable myself to urinate and which had to be there for at least 4 weeks, I was then given medication for 4 weeks and I had returned home by approximately 6 pm that evening. I’m sorry but I have to share this with you, but it's such a strange feeling to urinate into a bag and not something you really want to get used to, however my rehabilitation had to start somewhere. I was in a lot of pain for the first 4 days but was coping the best I could but on day 5 my catheter decided to become blocked and that was extremely awkward because trying to urinate came in the form of an outside shower. So straight to A&E and back to Kings Hospital, where it all began. I was waiting for about eight hours before I got seen but that's A&E for you and I was lucky enough to have the catheter removed and was also very lucky because I wasn’t fitted with another. 

I took one month off before going back to work but in hindsight it should have been longer, I thought that one month would have been enough but I got it wrong. Now every year for the past four years I have had a block booking with a large restaurant chain in the city, the booking lasts for five to six weeks throughout the Christmas period and because I thought I would have been well enough to work. I took it on again in October and well before my surgery had taken place because I genuinely thought that I would be fit for work, how wrong was I. I was feeling okay during the first 2 weeks but in the third week I realised I had gone back too early and I soon became ill, I should have just stopped at that point but being a true professional I went back to work to fulfil the booking. Generally I'm never ill when it comes to work, and definitely not a shirker by any means but my body wasn’t ready for what I was putting it through and I had to take a couple more days off throughout that period and believe me, I was relieved when that booking came to an end as I had more time for some more R&R which was most needed. I had another psa test in January of 2025 and then had to wait until mid February for the results. I received a call from another doctor on Dr. Ahmed's team, this time it was Dr. Nicolas Bananno and he told me that my PSA level had dropped down to 2.4 from 3.6, which was the level from my very first psa test and he advised me to have another test in August and to keep healthy. I was then asked to attend the Wembley Community Diagnostics Centre in October to have an MRI scan to see more clearly if the cancer had completely gone and also during this time I took that psa test. It was at the beginning of November when I received a call from yet another doctor on the same team, a Mr Manit Arya and he told me that my levels have dropped even further to 1.6 and furthermore he cant see any sign of cancer from the MRI scan I had taken. What he did say was that he would like me to have more regular checks and instead of every six monthly have them every four months throughout the year.

Now to receive that call was just phenomenal and I can't put into words how I really felt without using expletives but I think you get my drift. 

As we all know life just moves so fast and that news landed nearly 10 weeks ago already and it was only today that I had to attend my local GP for another psa test, so with my fingers crossed I am hoping that the level has dropped again and life keeps on improving.

Thank you for your time and please help to keep on spreading the word about Prostate Cancer and Prostate Cancer awareness.

Live your best life,

Dave