It’s scary when your father gets diagnosed with prostate cancer. It’s even scarier when you find out you have the same diagnosis. Scarier still when both of your brothers are diagnosed. This is the story of the Squires men from Kent. But thanks to Ben Eddy, a TUF-trained surgeon, they’ve been in safe hands.
We spoke to John Squires Jnr, a husband, father to two young kids, and a property developer in Ramsgate. Last year, John’s father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer after struggling with some unexplained stomach pains.
“It was a real shock when we got my dad’s diagnosis. The whole family was reeling and my wife was worried, so she did some research into it and found that prostate cancer is hereditary.
“I’ve got two young kids, so when I found this out, I wasn’t taking any chances. I went for a PSA test and everything came back fine, but I wanted to be completely sure. I went for MRI scans and the doctors found the cancer.”
If someone in your family has prostate cancer, this increases your chances of also having the disease. That fact was taken to the extreme with the Squires family as John’s older brother, Grant, 51, was diagnosed and then his younger brother, Jason, 48, was diagnosed, as well.
“After my dad was diagnosed we made a family decision that everyone needed to go and get checked. It was a shock every time we got a diagnosis back, but we decided to get our heads down and get on with it. We’re a tough family.”
“My dad obviously had his stomach problems, but apart from that, none of us had any symptoms at all. When I was diagnosed, they told me that I’d had prostate cancer for about three years!
“I didn’t know anything about prostate cancer before my dad was diagnosed, but after our experience I’ve learnt that you can never be too careful. Once you reach a certain age, you need to get yourself checked. I’ll be making sure my son gets checked when he’s older.”
“I’ve got two young kids and I want to see them grow up. When I was told about my treatment options, I decided right away that I wanted the prostate removed completely. I did not want to risk the cancer returning.”
John saw Mr Ben Eddy, a surgeon based in Canterbury who received surgical training thanks to funding from TUF. Ben is now a leading surgeon within the UK and regularly performs robotic surgery to treat prostate cancer.
“Ben is a good man. You can tell he is very good at his job. Even well after the surgery, he’s still there to support us. He and his staff have been excellent.
“The surgery he performed was incredible. I was released from hospital just one day after the operation and was back at work a week later. My dad is doing well after his operation and my brothers are still having their biopsies done.”
“It’s all back to normal for me. When we made the decision to have robotic surgery, we were aware that there would be some risks. I might have problems with incontinence and with erectile dysfunction. Thankfully I’ve so far avoided any incontinence problems and, although I can have a slight problem with erectile dysfunction, it’s nothing that a little medication can’t fix.”
Thanks to donations from TUF supporters, John and his family have been able to receive the best care available from Mr Ben Eddy. We want to continue to invest in urologists like Ben. Will you donate to that goal today?
If you're worried about prostate cancer, you can learn more here.
