Alan - Interview 33

Age at interview: 80

Age at diagnosis: 69

Brief Outline: Alan was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 years ago. He received surgery, then a course of radiotherapy when his PSA levels began to rise. Nowadays, he does not think that much about cancer, but feels that he is still living with it rather than beyond it.

Background: Alan is married with two children aged 49 and 46. He is a retired architect. Ethnic Background: White British.

More about me...

Alan was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer in 1999. He decided to have surgery instead of radiotherapy, as this course of action gave him more treatment options in the future. 

 

Following his surgery, Alan received six monthly PSA tests, and in 2001 his PSA levels started to rise. At this point he received radiotherapy, and his cancer has been in remission since then. 

 

Alan still sees his consultant for his regular PSA checks, and because of this he feels that he is not living past cancer. He is still dealing with it, and is continually monitored. He finds it helpful to know what his PSA level is, so he knows what he is dealing with. 

 

Initially, he was slightly worried about being diagnosed with cancer. However, nowadays he has a fairly busy life so doesn’t sit back and worry about cancer on a day to day basis. Cancer is not a major part of his life these days. 

 

Alan says that his attitude to life has not changed as a result of having prostate cancer 10...

Do you think that having had cancer has changed your perspective on things in any way? So, some people say it makes them appreciate life more or see things a bit different. Do you think that’s true for you?

 

Not particularly as I’m aware of, I don’t think, no. I suppose having never been ill in my life previously before having the cancer, I suppose I had to accept the fact that I wasn’t totally immune to everything, but other than that, no, I think attitudes haven’t changed a great deal.

 

Again, I feel I’m one of those very lucky people who’s gone through life feeling pretty fit most of the time and continued to do so really.

 

So having had cancer hasn’t really slowed you down in many ways?

 

No, it hasn’t, no.

 

Which is good. 

 

As I said, I feel extremely fortunate really. 

Alan had some of his prostate cancer treatment privately; 10 years on he still has a PSA check...

And that seemed to do the trick, and since then I’ve been having a series of six monthly checks, readings have been very low. They have more recently been, again, showing a slight tendency to rise but at an extremely low level, so I’m going along like that at present. And that really is the present situation of it.

 

So where do you go for your six monthly checks for the PSA levels?

 

Well, I have medical insurance, so I’ve been going, in fact, alternately to [private hospital] and [other private hospital], both in [local town].

 

So you don’t have to go through your GP to get those?

 

No, no I don’t. That is arranged directly with my consultants. I still have the two consultants, the oncologist and the surgeon, though I’m tending more now to see the oncologist.

 

And how, so I suppose that means that you haven’t been formally discharged then from your hospital care. Have they at any point said to you?

 

Well, I was discharged from surgery and discharged from radiotherapy, yes. But I suppose it is an ongoing thing. I think I remarked to you when we were on the phone once that, you know, you can never really claim with cancer, in my experience, to be following cancer, it’s finished with. It never really is because you go on being monitored and so on, and I was told I was going to be monitored for the rest of my life. 

 

So how do you feel usually before you go for a PSA test? I mean do you ever feel anxious or worried about?

 

Not especially, no. I think there’s a moment of mild anxiety before going to see the consultant to get the result, but it’s become fairly routine this really. On the whole, I suppose I’m not a great worrier.

 

And when you have a PSA test conducted, do they give you the results immediately or do you have to?

 

No, what usually happens is that I arrange the test myself and pop into the hospital. They take the blood test and I also, at the same time, arrange a consultation a week later with my consultant to give time for him to get the results and then I go and see him. Now, possibly on national health that might not work in the same way. I think it’s probably done at your local GP’s surgery and you probably ring up and get the result. In fact, I know that when I’ve had a blood test for something else on national health, what seems to happen is I ring the surgery and they say, “Oh, yes. It’s normal”, and that’s all the information you get, whereas I get the full details of the actual reading, which I like to have. 

 

If you worried about your cancer, who would be the first person that you would contact to get information or advice?

 

Well, if it was to do with an existing cancer, let’s say the prostate cancer, then since I’m seeing my own consultant six monthly on that, unless it would seem rather pressing, then I would probably raise it with him when I went to see him. In recent, you know, the recent two or three times since I had the, or two or three times ago, the oncology consultant said, did I wish to go on seeing him six months, because if I preferred, he could just write to me with the result each time and leave it at that. But I said, “No”. I thought it was quite useful to make it in to actually see him every six months, and that’s the opportunity to discuss things. So that’s the way it’s gone on.