logo
'Ask for the test,' grandfather battling cancer calls on men to seek help

'Ask for the test,' grandfather battling cancer calls on men to seek help

Yahoo2 days ago
ALWAY man, Gary Hastie-Davies wants to give all men a much-needed message that may save your life.
Gary, 69, has prostate cancer and has lived with treatment for years and has been able to enjoy his life and retirement. However, it could all be so different.
For Gary, it all started with a passing comment at the end of a routine doctor's appointment.
Gary, who has now retired from his security job and moved to Pentwyn, Cardiff, explains he was about to leave his GP appointment when the young doctor asked: 'Is there anything else I can help you with?'
Gary says he shook his head. But the doctor paused, looked up, and asked again: 'Are you sure?'
Man died at scene following serious multi-vehicle crash on M4 near Newport
Violent attack with fence post on Newport pub leaves staff shaken
Gary says he remembers hesitating — then finally mentioning some issues with sexual function. That small admission led to a rectal exam, which found nothing unusual. But the doctor followed up with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, just to be safe.
That test revealed high levels of prostate-specific antigen. A biopsy followed. The result? Aggressive prostate cancer.
Fifteen years on, Gary is still living with the disease. It has spread to his torso, but ongoing treatment has kept it in check. Thanks to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy, he has been able to enjoy his retirement — especially tending to the parsnips and carrots on his allotment.
'You'd never guess I've got something in me that's trying to kill me,' he said. 'Unless they find a cure, I know it'll eventually get me. But right now, I feel good.'
Gary has never forgotten the doctor who asked the extra question — and persisted. 'He was just out of medical school. I haven't seen him since, and I don't know his name. But I'd give anything to say thank you and give him a cwtch. He saved my life.'
Gary's diagnosis marked the start of a difficult chapter. He battled panic attacks, gained weight, and lost his confidence. 'At one point, I was 20 stone. I saw a photo of myself on holiday and thought, 'I've got to sort this out.'' Since then, he's lost four stone, and says the cancer no longer feels like it's winning.
The 2 'otherworldly' beaches in South Wales named among the UK's best for 2025
Support from wife, Carol, his two children and three grandchildren, has kept Gary going. So too did Dr Jim Barber at Velindre, who has guided his care from the beginning. 'He's been with me every step of the way,' said Gary.
Gary is now lending his voice to Prostate Cancer UK's campaign calling for PSA blood tests — not rectal exams — to be the first step in diagnosing prostate cancer. 'That blood test is what caught mine. The exam didn't find anything.'
The British Association of Urological Surgeons recently backed the charity's call to move away from routine rectal exams, calling the method outdated and unreliable.
One in eight men in the UK will develop prostate cancer. Those over 50 — or over 45 for Black men or anyone with a family history — can request a free PSA test from their GP, even without symptoms.
Gary says: 'Don't be embarrassed. Ask for the test. I did — just in time.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Antidepressant withdrawal is rare, study finds. Here are the most common symptoms
Antidepressant withdrawal is rare, study finds. Here are the most common symptoms

Yahoo

time42 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Antidepressant withdrawal is rare, study finds. Here are the most common symptoms

Going off of antidepressants may not come with as many side effects as people think, an extensive new analysis has found. The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, is the largest review to date on antidepressant withdrawal symptoms, according to the researchers from the United Kingdom. It sought to understand what happens when people stop taking antidepressants, and to identify which symptoms come from discontinuing medication and which could reflect a potential relapse of depression or other mental health issues. 'Our work finds that most people do not experience severe withdrawal, in terms of additional symptoms,' Dr Sameer Jauhar, the study's lead author and a researcher at Imperial College London, said in a statement. The review included 50 randomised controlled trials – which are considered the gold standard in medical research – spanning about 17,800 people. On average, people who stopped taking antidepressants experienced symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vertigo, and nervousness in the first two weeks. But most people had few enough symptoms that they were considered 'below the cutoff' for clinical withdrawal, the study found. People's moods also did not appear to get worse as a result of discontinuing their medicine, meaning it could instead be a sign that their depression is coming back, researchers said. Related Antidepressant prescriptions have increased among young French people since 2019, report finds The findings contradict another study published earlier this year that found antidepressant withdrawal symptoms were 'common, and severe and prolonged' for many patients. But Katharina Domschke, chair of the psychiatry and psychotherapy department at the University of Freiburg in Germany, said that study was 'methodologically much weaker' because it only included 310 patients and had a higher risk of bias in the results. The latest analysis is 'extremely welcome in terms of helping to destigmatise antidepressants,' added Domschke, who was not involved with the report. The study included several types of antidepressants, including agomelatine, vortioxetine, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as escitalopram, sertraline and paroxetine, and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) like venlafaxine and duloxetine. Researchers tracked the number of symptoms that people experienced on a 43-item scale, comparing those who went off antidepressants against those taking placebos, or dummy treatments. Overall, patients who stopped antidepressants experienced one extra symptom – such as nausea or vertigo – than people who stopped placebos. For example, 20 per cent of people who stopped taking venlafaxine suffered from dizziness, compared with just 1.8 per cent of those on placebos. Related Pills or paintings? Swiss town lets doctors prescribe free museum visits as art therapy Different antidepressants also came with different severity and length of symptoms. People who went off of desvenlafaxine experienced the most symptoms, while patients who stopped vortioxetine were fairly similar to those who took placebo medicines. The review has some limitations. Most of the studies followed people for up to two weeks after they stopped taking antidepressants, making it difficult to draw conclusions about long-term effects. 'We still need more data on long-term users, individual vulnerability, and best practices for discontinuation,' Dr Christiaan Vinkers, a psychiatrist and stress researcher at Amsterdam University Medical Center who was not involved with the study, said in a statement. For now, Vinkers said, "the findings promote a more balanced and science-based understanding of antidepressant discontinuation".

Karl Jenkins concert cancelled after extraordinary incident
Karl Jenkins concert cancelled after extraordinary incident

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Karl Jenkins concert cancelled after extraordinary incident

A Karl Jenkins concert has been cancelled following an extraordinary incident being declared in Llangollen. The Welsh Ambulance Service was called to a number of reports of a medical incident at Llangollen International Eisteddfod. It confirmed that eight patients were taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital with flu-like symptoms. A spokesperson for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod said it was forced to cancel the event, but it would continue on Thursday morning. Jenkins, a Welsh musician and composer, was due to perform at the concert on Wednesday evening. It added that the extraordinary incident related to a flu-like outbreak with multiple people coming forward with similar symptoms. "The Llangollen International Eisteddfod takes the safety of its audience, competitors, performers and volunteers extremely seriously. "We'd like to thank our staff, medical staff and our volunteers for their swift response this evening," it added. Ryan Reynolds' interpreter to receive Welsh honour What's it like at the eisteddfod as a non-Welsh speaker? Eisteddfod crowds urged to leave their cars at home

Your Suitcase Is 58 Times Dirtier Than a Public Toilet Seat, Study Finds—and Here's the Dirtiest Spot
Your Suitcase Is 58 Times Dirtier Than a Public Toilet Seat, Study Finds—and Here's the Dirtiest Spot

Travel + Leisure

time3 hours ago

  • Travel + Leisure

Your Suitcase Is 58 Times Dirtier Than a Public Toilet Seat, Study Finds—and Here's the Dirtiest Spot

Suitcases are one of the dirtiest travel items, and the wheels are the worst offender. The study swabbed both hard- and soft-shell suitcases. Harmful bacteria including Staphylococcus, Serratia, and Bacillus were found on luggage. We've all become a little more germ-conscious since the pandemic with hand sanitizer still lurking in pockets and bags across our closets. And while you may think you're being diligent by washing your hands frequently and perhaps even masking up during your travels, there is one place you really should be paying closer attention to: your luggage. The oft-used item is a shudderingly gross source of harmful bacteria with the wheels specifically home to nearly 58 times more bacteria than a public toilet seat, according to a recent study from InsureandGo that was shared with Travel + Leisure. To conduct its study, the company swab tested 10 different suitcases (a mix of soft- and hard-shell) at a London airport train station in partnership with microbiologist Amy-May Pointer to determine just how gnarly our luggage can get. Pointer also took swabs from control surfaces, including a public toilet seat and a flush button to compare. 'Suitcases, especially their wheels and bottoms, are germ magnets that can out-germ even a toilet," Pointer said in a statement shared with T+L. "Yet, with basic hygiene steps, you can prevent these traveling microbes from joining you in bed or on the dinner table.' Pointer was able to identify a range of bacteria grown from the swabs taken on the luggage, including Staphylococcus, which the study explained are common on human skin but could "get into cuts, can cause boils or impetigo (a highly contagious skin infection), and some strains (like S. aureus) even trigger food poisoning." She also spotted Serratia, which is usually harmless, but could "opportunistically cause urinary or wound infections in hospital settings," along with Bacillus, a bacterium well-known to cause foodborne illness. As for the wheels themselves, each swab found hundreds of bacterial and fungal colonies, making it critical that you never, ever put your suitcase on a hotel bed again. The next dirtiest spot was the base of the bag (where the Bacillus spores were found). Pointer warned soft-shell cases can harbor extra fungal growth compared to hard-shell luggage since fabric absorbs moisture more readily than plastic. Last up was the suitcase handle, which Pointer said was the likeliest spot for Staphylococcus. But Pointer doesn't want you to live in fear. Instead, she offered some helpful advice on how to avoid these germs, including storing your bags on a luggage rack, avoiding rolling your luggage into toilet stalls or through puddles when possible, washing your hands after touching your bags, and giving your suitcase a good wipe when you get home. 'The less gunk your wheels pick up, the less you'll have to worry about later," Pointer said, adding travelers should 'Treat your hands as if you just touched those surfaces, because indirectly, you did.' See the full findings and more sage advice from Pointer at

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store