My Story
Alec Bregonzi
I noticed that something was wrong a few years ago. I was getting up several times in the night to pass water. The doctor told me I had an enlarged prostate but that I wasn’t to worry.
A year later, I was taken into hospital to have a kidney stone removed. At the follow-up appointment, I was told that my PSA level was around 5. I had no idea about PSA levels but was informed that even though I had a symptom associated with prostate cancer (going to the loo frequently) – I wasn’t in any danger.
About 9 months after this, I started to pass blood in my urine and my GP referred me to hospital. It was there, after several tests, that I was told that I had prostate cancer. I was devastated – I felt like it had come out of nowhere. And to make matters worse, I wasn’t given any support and had no one to turn to.
Thankfully, I learned about The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Helpline. They were brilliant. I received some thorough advice from them and they were so understanding of my situation. Afterwards I was so relieved that I’d been able to speak to someone who could really help me and knew a great deal about what I was going through.
"The week after I was diagnosed was very bleak because I had no information. The support from The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Helpline got me through."
When I went back to see my consultant at the hospital, I was offered several different forms of treatment. I didn’t know what to do so called the Helpline for their help – and in the end, I went for radiotherapy. I was really lucky – it got rid of my cancer.
I’ve had a tough journey, but if it wasn’t for The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Helpline reassuring me, calming me down and giving me the information I needed, it could have been a whole lot worse.
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