David B’s Story

David Beresford – Buddy

I was born in 1958 in Walsall West Midlands, second son of Barbara and Thomas Beresford.

Much of my life, I have moved around the country, mainly due to my father’s employment with Leyland Vehicles Truck Bus and Tractor (he was Chief Engineer).

I myself am a Motor Engineer who has lived and worked in Lancashire, Lanarkshire & Greater Glasgow working on Austin/Morris, Rover/Triumph, Jaguar/Daimler, Rolls Royce/Bentley and for the last 40 years in Auchencairn where my wife Eleanor and I have run Auchencairn Garage, repairing anything from lawnmowers to 7.5tonne trucks.

We have a 26 year-old son who now lives in Ayr.

I’ve competed in several motorsport disciplines including Autotesting, Special Stage Rallying, Racing with Mini and Triumph TR7V8 and others, building and looking after Pre 1966 Historic Race Cars, such as Cortina, Mustang, Warwick, Austin Healey etc. I was privileged to work for renowned motorsport preparation team, Alan Mann Racing Ltd at various venues, including Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
These days we are happy just to get away in the caravan with our two dogs touring the UK and Europe or flying to somewhere warm.

Since 2020 I have had various health issues, my prostate journey starting in October 2021 when I passed a large amount of blood one morning. On a visit to my GP, bloods were taken followed by a referral to the Oncology dept at DGRI. Next step was a camera check of my bladder and a manual inspection of my Prostate. In the words of the doctor “there appears to be a little anomaly there”. Next steps were a CT scan, MRI and a Biopsy. I received the results of the tests In February 2022.

We made the decision to opt for removal (prostatectomy) after talking and reading about all the options, the side effects and long-term recovery.

I can honestly say I was like a swan (calm and In control on the surface but paddling like hell underneath), I wasn’t sleeping, I really wasn’t coping. Sunday lunchtime I messaged Prostate Buddies checking when the next meeting was and got an instant response from Roly Proudlock and initially, Eleanor and I met him for a coffee. I subsequently came to my first meeting with an amount of needless trepidation, as I was made to feel very welcome and by the end of the evening, all of my fears and questions had been resolved and I felt so much better.

On 30th March 2022, I had my first appointment at Western General Hospital, Edinburgh to see Oncologist and Surgeon, Mr Daniel Good, followed by further visits for pre-med , clinical nurse specialist and physiotherapist.

I finally got the date for my operation for June 20th June 2022 and gladly the procedure went well and I was discharged the following afternoon.

I was back at DGRI for my first scan 10 days after the op and whilst I had a complication with a bladder leak (a known potential side effect for the rare minority) a total of 5 scans 2 weeks apart took place before I had my catheter removed. My recovery was a slow process but Prostate Buddies D & G have been a great help to Eleanor and myself throughout and continue to do so. We attend all the monthly meetings and both of us agree, they have had a positive impact on both of us.