Claire’s Story

After visiting David’s mum, brother and sister-in-law who had moved to Dumfries from Essex in 2016, we decided to move up also. We have two daughters who as we say ‘were off our hands’ and it was now our time. So in January 2018 we towed our caravan up and stayed on a site at Crocketford, during which time we endured the ‘beast from the east’. Even now we laugh about it wondering how the hell we survived it but we did and are here to tell the tale. We eventually found our forever home and moved over to Croal Chapel where we’ve been living and renovating our cottage for six years.

Our prostate journey started during Covid when David had some routine bloods taken and was told that he had an enlarged prostate and required further investigation. The initial biopsy results came back inconclusive, so he had further biopsies done and went back to get the results on 1^st February 2023. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go in with him as we couldn’t find a parking space at DGRI so I sat in the car waiting nervously. I knew by the amount of time that he was in with the consultant and the look on his face when he got back that the news was going to be life changing. We just sat in the car hugging & crying for a few minutes before travelling home in near silence.

Over the next few days and weeks there was a lot to think & talk about. After reading the information that David had been given, I asked if he wanted to go to the Prostate Buddies meeting at the end of the month to which he said that he wasn’t sure, but by the end of the month he had decided that he did want to go, just to see what it was all about, meet other men in the same situation and hopefully get an idea of everything involved with this journey that he had just started and it wasn’t a journey just for him, it was for me too. I joined the ladies in their meeting where I got a very warm welcome from Eleanor & Von, the original members of the ‘Prostate Partners’ group.

In March 2023 we went for an appointment at the Western General in Edinburgh for David’s initial consultation to find out which option was the best for David. He was only offered one option, the removal of the prostate as the prostate was pushing against his urethra, making it hard for him to pass urine. After several more appointments at the Western, David had his operation on 7^th July 2023. The operation was a success as they had managed to get it just in time as the cancer had just started to leak from the prostate. As David says, he’s been given a second chance at life.

Since David’s operation, after blood tests, he remains ‘undetectable’ and we both continue to attend the monthly Prostate Buddies meetings, where we have formed some great friendships and help on the Prostate Buddies stand at shows, when my work allows.

I recently became a ‘Prostate Partner’ to be able to share my experiences as the wife of a man who has gone through and is still going through this journey and to raise awareness of this disease which many men don’t have any symptoms of and can go undetected for many years.

We will be forever grateful to Roly, the ‘Buddies’ & the ‘Prostate Partners’ for everything that they do and continue to do, to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer.

As the saying goes ‘WE NEED TO TALK’ which isn’t just for the men but us women too.