Roly’s Story

Roly Proudlock – Chairman & Founder

Grandfather of three. If I only had three words to tell my back story it would have to be just that, as I’m the doting Papa of three wonderful little individuals of whom I’m very proud.

Born in 1953, I joined an already large family that never seemed to stop and there was always a buzz in the house, with folk permanently coming and going.

Having three older sisters during the emergence of the Beatles means I’m a lifelong fan, but my musical tastes are eclectic, as evidenced by my favourite classical tune, ‘Nimrod’ by Elgar. That one gets me right there, every time!. And liking music came in handy when I started playing drums at eighteen. I even got to play drums for comedian Jimmy Cricket among other big names in their day. All these years later I still play and still love it, but mostly for Musicals now.

Apart from music, cars and motor sport have featured strongly in my life story. I was rubbish at rally driving but still enjoyed it. I’ve moved on from that now and gardening keeps me busy, when I can get near it!. I genuinely love my garden and whether I’m in it or looking out at it, it makes me happy. And I enjoy painting watercolour landscapes.

Careers have been varied but always orientated toward customer service and latterly, my three decades as an Independent Financial Adviser at Annandale Financial Services where I’m a partner, have been interesting to say the least.

I mentioned three members of the family at the top and now I return to that topic.

For me, one of the most important elements since diagnosis in March 2018 has been the support of family, mainly of course, my wife Thelma. She was as shocked as me with the diagnosis but has been with me all of the way, sharing my fears, accompanying me to appointments and helping my recovery. I would have struggled without her support and I will always remember that. Our son Mark and daughter Hayley, also shared our initial concerns, particularly as I am usually such an active jokey person but here I was, at a very low point. All of us have been through something we didn’t expect but we got through it.

Please do yourself a favour and read on…

In summer 2016, I went to my GP with a pain in my side that was bothering me. It later transpired the pain wasn’t attached in any way to my Prostate but after a blood test, my GP advised that while everything else was in order, my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) reading was 6.7. It should have been no higher than 0.1 and according to him, there could be a problem with my Prostate. At 63 years of age, I had quite frankly no idea what a prostate was, where it was and what it did.

I certainly do now!

The first biopsies came back ‘negative’ for cancer. However, I’ll be eternally grateful to my doctor who, being unconvinced by this result, prescribed three-monthly blood tests to keep an eye on me. My PSA kept rising and in December 2017, with it now at 12.1, I had an MRI scan that showed ‘suspect areas’ in my prostate. Further biopsies were taken and this time I received a ‘positive’ cancer diagnosis.

In August 2018, having considered the options as to how my cancer should be treated, I had robotic surgery to remove my prostate and spent just one night in hospital. After a few weeks I was back to work and grateful to hear my surgeon say the op had been successful. I have to date, needed no further treatment other than blood tests for 5 years post op, to satisfy the specialists that my recovery was good. I’m enjoying life again.

Notably, I had none of the normal symptoms that point to Prostate Cancer, so that innocuous muscle pain that took me to my GP did me a huge favour. Can you afford ten minutes to have a blood test? Can you afford not to? It may save your life.

So why start a Prostate Cancer support group in D&G?

It’s quite simple. On the day I was diagnosed in early March 2018, myself and my family were all devastated and struggled to take the news in.

After two weeks, in desperation, I contacted a man whom I knew had had prostate cancer and treatment. That afternoon, he kindly spoke to me for as long as I needed, after which I felt much more positive. He told me that as I’d been caught ‘early’ I could die with Prostate Cancer but not of it. That was such a powerful thing to hear and I now tell men the same.

It’s frustrating that men often don’t discuss health matters with their GP or even with each other, as if doing so is a sign of weakness. It really isn’t!

I’m confident anyone attending our open sessions or meeting one of the ‘Buddies’ will be impressed. No topic is out of bounds and we are all very candid about the diagnosis, the illness, any side effects and our personal experiences. We are proof that listening and talking to other sufferers really helps. It certainly works for me!

All our meetings are free and we will do all we can to help men (and their loved ones who are all invited to the separate ‘Prostate Partners’ group) to come to terms with their diagnosis, consider their treatment options and put things in perspective. You’re welcome to come along!