Katherine Fenech
Eric Kent had very little knowledge of prostate cancer before learning he had an aggressive form of the disease in 2002.
The St Marys resident was 65 at the time and said the diagnosis sent him "into a spin".
"I'd decided to see my GP because a family member had suspicious symptoms with his prostate," he said.
"The doctor told me my prostate antigen test was elevated that meant very little to me. I had no symptoms. I had very little idea of what a prostate was, where it was or what it did."
Mr Kent had lost his wife to breast cancer seven years earlier.
"I began to think, how much time do I have left?" he said.
"What about the family?
"We saw what [my wife] had to endure with surgery and chemotherapy."
After surgery to remove his prostate gland, he received 12 months of hormone therapy at Nepean Hospital's Cancer Care Centre and his prognosis is now good.
He joined the Nepean/Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group, met others with the same illness and learned that he wasn't alone.
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. The NSW Cancer Council will hold a phone-in on Thursday, September 13, on 131 120, 9am to 9pm, for free specialist advice.
The Nepean/Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group meets every month at Nepean Hospital.
Reproduced with thanks to the Penrith Star.