Jim is 82 years old, and retired. He began his working life as a fitter and turner, “but I hated that,” and turned to the carpentry/building trade. He came to Geelong when he was 20 to run a milk bar and later a licensed grocery store. A move to Ballarat to run a small business also saw him meet his [...]
John is 69 years old. He was working for BHP from 1994 to 1998 as a technical expert on road and rail transport, and based in Melbourne. After leaving BHP John set up his own consultancy business, specializing in the areas of road, agricultural and industrial safety. This can involve up to 70 hours of work a week. John has [...]
Steve is 54 years old. In May 2005, when he had just turned 44, he felt that he was looking unusually pale, and unusually tired. Steve visited his GP, and asked him to run some blood tests. Despite not being at the at-risk age, Steve was happy to also have his PSA tested as he was getting up at night [...]
Bill is sixty years old, and self-employed as an electrical engineer. He has been having an annual PSA test since 1996 (age 42), when his then 76 year-old father died from prostate cancer. At 50 years, in 2004, Bill’s PSA score went from 2 to 3. Even though it was within the allowed range of up to 3.5, for his [...]
In 2000 whilst travelling in Spain, Morocco and the UK, Graeme realized that something was wrong. He had developed a constant need to urinate. He jokes that he developed a new interest in botany on this trip, as he constantly snuck away behind trees and scrub for a pee! When Graeme and his wife, Wilma, returned from that trip an appointment was [...]
Ern is 79 years old. In 2001, when he was 60, he spoke with his doctor and requested that his PSA be graphed. Six years later Ern’s PSA reading began to spike, and he was referred to a urologist. A biopsy detected no evidence of cancer. PSA graphing continued, and another spike occurred when he was 72. This time [...]
Ron will be 74 in September. After retiring at the age of 67, a general health check-up which included blood tests revealed an elevated PSA of 17.1. Biopsy tests later revealed 10 of the 12 samples were positive, with a Gleason score of 7. A radical prostatectomy was advised as soon as possible At this point Ron felt that he [...]
Adrian is 64 years old. In 2008 following the publicity surrounding Sam Newman’s prostate cancer experience, Adrian had his first PSA test. The result was a PSA reading of more than 7. His GP referred him to a urologist, and a biopsy was subsequently undertaken – “I didn’t enjoy that experience one bit,” recalls Adrian. The biopsy revealed prostate [...]