{"id":8629,"date":"2025-11-24T14:21:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=8629"},"modified":"2025-11-26T21:33:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:33:38","slug":"i-twisted-my-ankle-then-i-was-told-i-had-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/24\/i-twisted-my-ankle-then-i-was-told-i-had-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"I twisted my ankle \u2013 then, I was told I had cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Luke\t<\/div>
Being diagnosed with prostate cancer early can be lifesaving for men\u00a0(Picture: Prostate Cancer UK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to my mum working in medicine, <\/strong>I\u2019ve always been on top of<\/strong> my health. <\/p>\n

As a result, I\u2019ve long made sure to have a full \u2018MOT\u2019 check-up every summer – and thankfully, for most of my adult life, I\u2019ve been given a clean bill of health. <\/p>\n

But little did I know that, in 2013, my GP had missed the abnormal results of my PSA blood test – which helps detect prostate cancer<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

None the wiser, the following summer, I had another MOT and the results this time concerned my GP. I then went on to have a rectal examination, but doctors thought my PSA levels were raised due to the type of activities I did, such as cycling. <\/p>\n

I was told that this type of physical activity may have irritated the prostate, so nothing was done.<\/p>\n

That was until 2015, when I twisted my ankle at the gym and couldn’t work. During that time, I decided to have my MOT early – this time, with a different GP.<\/p>\n

Six weeks later I was told that I had prostate cancer<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n

I was 49, and I didn\u2019t know what the future held or how it would impact things like incontinence<\/a>, or my sex life.<\/p>\n

Quote<\/title><title>Quote<\/title><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/23\/david-cameron-reveals-shock-moment-doctors-told-cancer-24785943\/\">David Cameron has revealed that he, too, was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago<\/a> after his wife encouraged him to get a PSA test. Unlike mine, his ‘worryingly high’ results were picked up immediately as an alarming red flag.<\/p>\n<p>And, like Cameron, I’m committed to raising awareness of the vital need for early diagnosis when it comes to prostate cancer. Because the earlier you find prostate cancer, the easier it is to treat.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, when I first heard the news of my diagnosis, I was bereft. I went into a corner in the surgery and cried, it was such a blow. My dad had died of the disease and my uncle had had it too. <\/p>\n<p>I was only 49, and I didn\u2019t know what the future held or how it would impact things like <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/02\/15\/prostate-cancer-left-me-incontinent-we-need-sanitary-bins-in-mens-loos-18280542\/\">incontinence<\/a>, or my sex life.  <\/p>\n<p>At the same time, I felt hopeful and optimistic that I would overcome the cancer. Everyone in my family was also very supportive and rallied around me when they heard the news.<\/p>\n<p>In a way, I feel lucky that my <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/cancer\/\">cancer <\/a>was caught so early, even though I had no symptoms, which meant I could still have <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/04\/06\/nhs-approves-life-changing-drug-to-treat-prostate-and-breast-cancer-18567503\/\">treatment <\/a>to cure it completely. <\/p>\n<p>I decided to have surgery to remove the entire prostate and I had <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/02\/27\/needing-to-wee-in-the-middle-of-the-night-is-warning-sign-of-prostate-cancer-16183791\/\">issues with leaking <\/a>afterwards, as I feared.  <\/p>\n<p>Luckily, my amazing after-care team explained the exercises that I needed to do to help the muscles remember how to do their job again. It took me almost two years to get to a place of confidence, but I\u2019m fine now and doing well.  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As predicted, I also had some <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/06\/13\/the-hypnotherapist-who-helps-men-with-erectile-dysfunction-2-18896032\/\">erectile dysfunction<\/a> after my surgery, which made me feel frustrated, even angry at times, and envious of friends who would tell me of their most recent pleasures. <\/p>\n<p>I felt cheated and sometimes gave up hope of finding that happy place again. <\/p>\n<p>I was initially prescribed Viagra, but decided not to use it as I wanted my body to learn how to do things on its own. It\u2019s an approach that took a while to help, but now all that frustration is behind me. <\/p>\n<p>Since the moment I was diagnosed, my whole outlook on life has changed.  <\/p>\n<p>I started looking at everyday objects differently and wondered if I would ever see them again.  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"411\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_160198429-0b78.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-18948959\" alt=\"Luke Williams: Prostate cancer - Black men\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>I have three brothers and I\u2019m always reminding them, and other Black men I know, about their risk (Picture: Prostate Cancer UK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I rarely wear a coat in the winter now because I want to feel the cold air on my skin, reminding me that I\u2019m still here. <\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t take anything for granted any more, and for me it\u2019s about grabbing life with both hands and spending as much time as possible with the people I love. <\/p>\n<p>Currently, there\u2019s no trace of the cancer, and I\u2019m living with very little impact from the surgery. My most recent PSA reading was 0.1 and I was recently told that the hospital will refer me back to my GP for regular monitoring, which is good news.  <\/p>\n<p>The reality is, I\u2019m one of the 1 in 4 Black men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. <\/p>\n<p>Prostate cancer mainly affects men when they\u2019re over 50, but Black men (or men who have a history of prostate cancer in the family like I did) need to watch out from the age of 45. <\/p>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\">\n<div class=\"metro-comment-cta__inner\"><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text-wrap\"><title>Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Has this story inspired you to get a prostate exam? Have your say in the comments<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>I never had any symptoms before I was diagnosed after my ankle injury, so the impact of prostate cancer isn\u2019t usually felt and doesn’t usually start affecting you until it has already spread and is incurable. <\/p>\n<p>That’s why being diagnosed early can be lifesaving for men. <\/p>\n<p>I now know how crucial it is to understand your risks of <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/07\/10\/prostate-cancer-diagnosis-i-chose-to-be-open-unlike-some-men-16878761\/\">prostate cancer<\/a>. It\u2019s why I\u2019ve teamed up with Prostate Cancer UK to help to inform and educate – especially amongst other Black men. I use every opportunity that I get, and wear the Man of Men badge, which often sparks a conversation.<\/p>\n<p>I supported the charity once again for their 2023 campaign: \u2018What on Earth is a prostate!?’ <\/p>\n<p>For this campaign, the charity conducted a survey on a number of widespread myths and misconceptions about prostate cancer and I was shocked to discover that, according to the survey, 78% of Black men don\u2019t know that ethnicity influences the risk of prostate cancer. <\/p>\n<p>The reality is, Black men are at double the risk of getting the disease compared to other men. <\/p>\n<div class=\"trending-now trending-post-strip\">\n<h2 class=\"trending-post-strip-more\">More <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/trending\/?ico=trending-post-strip_more\">Trending<\/a><\/h2>\n<ol class=\"trending-now__list\">\n<li class=\"trending-now__list-item accent--sex accent--lifestyle\" data-ico=\"trending-ico\">\n<div class=\"article-card\">\n<div class=\"article-card__image\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/25\/people-think-dad-34-year-age-gap-doesnt-define-us-24769514\/\" data-ico=\"trending-post-strip_item_1\" aria-label=\"Link: People think he's my dad \u2014 but our 34-year age gap doesn't define us\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-container\"><img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275147983-29b1-e1764000666858.jpg\" class=\"attachment-metro_16_9_medium size-metro_16_9_medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"PIC FROM Kennedy News\/@han.anh.kd (PICTURED: HANNAH DICKSON, 23, WITH HER BOYFRIEND, CHRIS WILLINGHAM, 57, AND DOG, SAILOR MAY) A 23-year-old woman keeps dating older men as lads her age are too 'childish' - despite her boyfriend being constantly mistaken for her dad due to a 34-YEAR AGE GAP. Hannah Dickson had seen 57-year-old Chris Willingham around her gym for a couple of years before hiring him as her personal trainer in February 2025. As they spent more time together and began having long chats during workouts that they dubbed 'therapy sessions', they quickly fell for one another. DISCLAIMER: While Kennedy News and Media uses its best endeavours to establish the copyright and authenticity of all pictures supplied, it accepts no liability for any damage, loss or legal action caused by the use of images supplied and the publication of images is solely at your discretion. SEE KENNEDY NEWS COPY - 0161 697 4266\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-card__inner\">\n<h3 class=\"article-card__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/25\/people-think-dad-34-year-age-gap-doesnt-define-us-24769514\/\" data-ico=\"trending-post-strip_item_1\">People think he's my dad \u2014 but our 34-year age gap doesn't define us<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"article-card__footer\">\n<div class=\"article-card__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/lifestyle\/sex\/\" class=\"channel-glyph\"><br \/>\n\t\t<title>Channel: Sex<\/title>\t\t<span class=\"channel-glyph__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tSex\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"article-card__date\">1 day ago<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"article-card__author\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/author\/charlie-sawyer\/\"><strong>Charlie Sawyer<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"trending-now__list-item accent--politics accent--news\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/26\/take-a-disabled-person-motability-isnt-free-cars-24803632\/\" data-ico=\"trending-post-strip_item_2\">Take it from a disabled person – Motability isn\u2019t about free cars<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"trending-now__list-item accent--property accent--lifestyle\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/8-simple-home-improvements-keep-house-warm-winter-24770716\/\" data-ico=\"trending-post-strip_item_3\">8 simple home improvements to keep your house warm in winter<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"trending-now__list-item accent--health accent--lifestyle\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/25\/a-thud-night-started-worst-18-minutes-life-24790076\/\" data-ico=\"trending-post-strip_item_4\">A thud in the night started the worst 18 minutes of my life<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p>It also turns out that lots of men feel like they would wait for symptoms before they speak to their GP \u2013 apparently, 59% of men in the UK say that they don\u2019t want to bother their GP unless they are in pain or have symptoms (of Black men surveyed, 52% said the same). <\/p>\n<p>Others say they\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/11\/06\/third-of-men-are-putting-off-life-saving-prostate-cancer-checks-17691809\/\">put off by the thought<\/a> of a rectal exam. But the good news is you do not need that test to check for prostate cancer anymore. The best first test is a blood test and then if there are any signs of prostate cancer you are referred for an MRI scan.<\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t afford for men to bury their head in the sand, it\u2019s costing too many lives. That’s why I tell men to take Prostate Cancer UK\u2019s 30 second risk checker, to quickly understand if you are at risk and what you can choose to do about it.<\/p>\n<p>So don\u2019t put it off, it could save your life. It saved mine.<\/p>\n<p><em>Catching prostate cancer early saves lives. Check your risk today at <a href=\"https:\/\/prostatecanceruk.org\/risk-checker?utm_source=Metro&utm_medium=press-release&utm_campaign=mens-health-week-2023\">prostatecanceruk.org\/riskcheck\u202f <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:jess.austin@metro.co.uk\">jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/11\/22\/prostate-cancer-symptoms-signs-treatment-and-how-to-book-a-check-up-17804088\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Prostate cancer: Signs, symptoms and how to book a check-up<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/06\/12\/the-dark-knight-star-colin-mcfarlane-diagnosed-with-prostate-cancer-18933782\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">The Dark Knight and Outlander star Colin McFarlane diagnosed with prostate cancer and urges men to get tested<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/02\/15\/prostate-cancer-left-me-incontinent-we-need-sanitary-bins-in-mens-loos-18280542\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Prostate cancer surgery left me incontinent and using pads \u2013 we need sanitary bins in men\u2019s loos<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being diagnosed with prostate cancer early can be lifesaving for men\u00a0(Picture: Prostate Cancer UK) Thanks to my mum working in medicine, I\u2019ve always been on top of my health.  As a result, I\u2019ve long made sure to have a full \u2018MOT\u2019 check-up every summer – and thankfully, for most of my adult life, I\u2019ve been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8629"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8629"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8635,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8629\/revisions\/8635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}