A prostate cancer patient has shared an intimate photo of himself in his underwear in the hope that it will encourage other men to watch out for symptoms of the disease.
Kurt Jewson, who posed with his colostomy bag on show, posted the image with a caption reading: "Here I am in all my tubby, pale and middle aged (I'm 44) glory.
"I've got a catheter, stoma (colostomy bag), scars where you can see them, scars where you can't, and hormone implants below my skin.
"I have another operation to come, and then radio and/or chemo therapy."
Jewson explained that he had blood in his urine in the summer of 2014.
"I went to the GP and he said that it was probably just an infection and would clear up. It did," he said.
"However, it wasn't an infection. It was a symptom of prostate cancer.
"If my GP had simply taken some blood, and sent it off for a PSA test (the test for prostate cancer...it's NOT a finger up the ass... That comes later!) then we would have caught this at an early, and much more manageable stage."
Jewson then shared a link to Prostate Cancer UK and urged men to spend five minutes reading the symptoms.
"It could save your life," he said.
According to the charity, prostate cancer that’s contained inside the prostate (called localised prostate cancer) doesn’t usually cause any symptoms.
But some men may experience urinary problems such as:
- Needing to urinate more often than usual, including at night. For example if you often need to go again two hours.
- Difficulty starting to urinate.
- Straining or taking a long time to finish urinating.
- A weak flow when you urinate.
- A feeling that you’re not emptying your bladder fully.
- Needing to rush to the toilet, sometimes leaking before you get there.
Other less common symptoms include pain when urinating, pain when ejaculating and blood in your urine or semen.
These symptoms may be mild and happen over many years, so for many men, the first symptoms of prostate cancer they notice could be pain in the back, hips or pelvis.
"This can be caused by cancer that’s spread to the bones. These symptoms are often caused by other problems such as general aches or arthritis. But it’s still a good idea to get them checked out by your GP," the website reads.
Jewson said he wants men to know that it's not just older guys who get prostate cancer.
"Prostate cancer is becoming more prevalent in 'younger' men. Men our age," he said.
"If you have blood in your urine, or any other symptom listed on ProstateUK's website, then get a blood PSA test. Insist upon it.
"If I had known earlier, then my treatment and prognosis would have been so different.
"As it was, my cancer was free to grow and grow for another 12 months without anyone knowing. So, there you go.
"Sorry to be so serious, but one in eight of you (that's how many men will get prostate cancer) will bloody thank me one day."
