Hi, my name is Jimmy. I’m from Ireland and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018. It had taken longer than what I was told, but I was finally declared cancer-free in July 2024. This is my story.

I was visiting the doctor for a different reason and was asked to take a PSA test. That was the starting point. I don’t remember the subtype of cancer, all I know was that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

I was surprised as I never felt that there was anything wrong and I was fit at the time.

When I was first diagnosed, my doctor recommended these treatments:

• Radical prostatectomy (removal of entire prostate)
• Radiation therapy
• Hormone therapy

However, based on my own research, I decided to forego radiation and hormone therapy and only opted for the radical prostatectomy. So I had my prostate removed and no other treatment. I had my PSA test every six months. I was optimistic having had the cancer removed, and I was happy with the way things were going. Currently, I’m in remission and do not require any medication. I was declared cancer-free in July 2024.

Thankfully, I had no side effects from the surgery and my treatment was covered by the public health system.

After treatment, my exercise frequency changed drastically. I would normally run every day, but had to stop after my operation.

For the next two years, I don’t have any concrete plan. I live my life one day at a time, but I am confident that I will achieve the things I want to do in these two years.

After being diagnosed, I faced challenges in my social life, relationships with loved ones, day-to-day life and professional life. I would say that my day-to-day life was affected the most. I adapted to the changes that happened in my life. I retired from work and avoided anything that caused any pain. I find that groin support has been especially useful during my recovery journey.

I would not like to give advice to others. In my own case, I tried to make my body stronger. I tried to increase my testosterone levels by eating foods and doing weight training. Those would help me achieve my goal.

The biggest fear was that I might die. Other fears I had include changes in lifestyle, relationships and what the prognosis was.

As time went by, I became more confident that things were going to get better.

Some time has passed and now, I feel optimistic as my PSA reading has been low for over 5 years.

I was told I had a Gleason score of 9, which can be very frightening. I looked for as much information on prostate cancer as I could. This helped me make more informed decisions in relation to my treatment. I decided not to have radiation or hormone therapy, but in the end, this is a decision for individual. It seemed to have worked for me, but it might not work for everyone.

Pain/discomfort has been the most challenging aspect of being a cancer survivor. I had to change the way I did everyday tasks. Do know that life is still good, just different. You are still the same person, but you have to do things a little differently. However, I wish I had known to manage my expectations with regards to how fast I would get better as I was not better in the time frame I was told.