Bill Turnbull
Two years to the day that Bill passed away. Bill had a massive impact in making people aware of the symptoms of Prostate cancer. There are quite a few thousand people in the UK who owe their lives to Bill and there are a few of us on the Gasroom.
Thank you Bill.
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I would never have been able to talk about something so personal had it not been for Bill’s openness about his condition.
Thank you Bill and thank you to my family, friends and fans for their support. PSA now under control at less than 0.3
Yes my PSA is now undetectable, which is good. I would certainly encourage anyone with symptoms to go and get a simple PSA blood test. Please do not think things will go away and it is only age related. It may turn out to be nothing but if you do have an issue then at least you will give yourself a better chance by knowing what is going on.
Symptoms such as slow urine flow and getting up two or three times a night to go to the toilet could be a sign of prostate issues.
I’m also in the Gasroom prostate club and agree with the above posts, it’s not as frightening or life threatening as it sounds if you get tested, act quickly and decisively and follow the advice of the experts.
Boys, lads, man of the gasroom we need to talk about this:
At some point in our lives a doctor will probably need to put there finger up your bum.
The day Bill past away I was working near my doctor - It was 18 months after I started to ignore the letters from my doctor for the first of what will become regular age related health checks.
I knocked off work when I heard the news and immediately booked myself that appointment.
Let’s not be scared to talk about it.
It’s not a joke. It’s not funny
its not weird.
its not something nefarious
it shouldn’t be taboo.
A finger up the bum is a fact. It might save your life.
18 years ago (yes, eighteen) I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It had spread slightly beyond the prostate so surgery was apparently not an option. I was prescribed radiotherapy and spent a month driving from Monday to Friday to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.
After that I was put on a combination of oral medication (tablets) and three monthly hormone jabs in the buttocks. At no stage have I received the kind of chemotherapy where you have to be at the hospital and sit connected to a drip. The worst side effects I have experienced over the years have been hot flushes.
I was in remission for a good few years but symptoms suddenly returned in early 2021. A CT scan showed that the cancer had metastased (spread to bone). We got a phone call from one of the oncology nurses in May 2021 with news of the metastasis and the implication that the condition was now terminal. That was over three years ago. That is why I describe myself as a freak of nature.
The oncology consultant tells me that the longest survival period he’s come across (or heard about) is 21 years. As my initial diagnosis was quite late, I think I may be very close to being a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records.
So, any of you who may have been diagnosed with prostate cancer or are diagnosed in future, stay positive and remember that treatment has improved considerably in recent years as well as survival rates
I would encourage any man aged 50 or over to ask for a PSA test at the local GP surgery, especially if you’ve noticed blood in your urine and/or are having to get up in the night more often than you used to.
I did the PSA test a couple of years ago, and fortunately all clear.
But getting up in the night to pee is an inevitable consequence of old age, and I've had to get up once or twice for a few years now.
In fact, this also applies to WWFC home games. After a pre-match pint, I can just about make it to half time before dashing off to the loo. Anyone sitting in the FA stand, rows A, B, and C seats 90-96, should be grateful that they don't get sprayed with a fine mist as I dash for the exit.
Good the PSA test gave you that peace of mind. 👍
Same, it was the constant weeing that made me have the test more than anything. Also, thankfully was given the all clear and told to have another in a couple of years, so another year to go.