"THE doctor just sat down and said, 'You've got cancer. Any questions?' and I didn't know what to say.
"I went in for a routine check of my blood pressure and cholesterol and they wanted to check my PSA levels while they were there. Then I got the results back and was told I'd got prostate cancer," said Andrew Moses, 56, of Towerlands, Braintree.
PSA is prostate-specific antigen and doctors test the levels of this protein in the blood to determine if a patient has cancer.
When Mr Moses was first told he had cancer he was presented with two options; surgery or chemotherapy.
Both seemed daunting, but Mr Moses opted for surgery.
"It doesn't just boil down to age, younger and younger people are getting it. A lot of people have it but because it's so slow-spreading they don't realise they do – unless they get tested like I did.
"It is so important to know what to look for and get tested. But the problem is because of where it is people just don't like talking about it.
"I was told it was hereditary, then my aunt told me my father had it – but no one knew because people didn't talk about it.
The hereditary form of prostate cancer affects only about 20 per cent of all sufferers and many people, especially over 70, have the condition without realising.
Because of this experience, Mr Moses now wants to set up a support group for other men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, to enable better communication about the disease.
"Families often find it difficult to talk about and deal with. Everybody deals with it in different ways. I found it especially hard to talk to my daughter about it because of the possible side effects."
Mr Moses added: "It would be good to have somewhere people could get together in this area and share experiences.
"I've got to have PSA tests for three months. If it rises on three occasions, then they could go back to doing radiotherapy.
"It's good to talk to other people that have had prostate cancer and talk through the options with someone who's been through a similar experience and can explain what to expect and to help with some of the jargon."
Mr Moses had an operation in November last year to remove his prostate gland, so has avoided chemotherapy for now – but he still has some final tests to undergo before the all-clear.
"I've had the surgery and they'll check my PSA levels and if it's increased I may need further treatment, but right now I'm just trying to get back to normal.
"Before then, it was hard to stay positive. The hardest part is during the evenings when there's no one else around to talk to and you're just alone with your thoughts. I called the Samaritans – they were really good to talk to and I came out feeling better.
"I'd like this group to be like that – where people feel free to call each other if they need to.
"It's about having someone to talk to away from the family – it could be about football or anything, even if it just takes your mind off it."
Melissa Moses, 27, Andrew's daughter, said: "It was a big shock and it's been hard because, even though he's sort of got the all clear, there's still this uncertainty that it might come back – it's the unknown that's hard.
"It's been hardest on my mum because she's been the one that's had to deal with it.
"She's had to do a lot of things for him – he couldn't drive for six weeks then, straight after he came out of hospital he got an infection.
"My mum's the one that's been his life-saver and done everything for him. But it's what you do for your loved ones.
"You just have to deal with things and normal life has to go on for the kids. It's been hardest for my oldest – he's eight so he understands that bit more and wants to know what's going on."
