“If I’d had access to screening, I might not now be looking at an incurable cancer diagnosis.”

Robert Minton-Taylor recently learned he has just six years to live after being diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer.

“I had difficulty urinating and with retention of urine in the bladder,” he explains. “My prostate was found to be enlarged, and I had two operations that helped relieve the symptoms by removing excess tissue. An enlarged prostate can be caused by ageing, and tests found that there was no cancer present, so I was put on a course of a treatment called ‘finasteride’ to further reduce the size of the prostate.”

Following surgery, Robert was monitored through regular ‘prostate specific antigen’ (PSA) tests, which measure the amount of a protein called PSA in the blood. A raised PSA level can be caused by several different conditions, including cancer.

Robert says: “My PSA tests were unreliable. They were up and down like a yoyo. However, in May 2024 I was called into my GP surgery, where I had a rectal examination. I was then referred to Airedale Hospital.

“After further rectal examinations, my urology consultant said that although my prostate felt like a gnarled walnut, there was little to worry about. I was given an MRI scan a few days later and saw the urologist again. He said he was shocked and surprised to have to tell me that I had prostate cancer.”

Following further scans and tests, it was confirmed that Robert’s cancer had spread from his prostate to his lower spine, hips, lymph nodes and chest cavity.

He swiftly began a course of 18 sessions of chemotherapy which ended in October last year. He was also treated with two different types of hormone therapy to slow the growth of the cancer and will be on hormone treatment for the rest of his life.

Robert believes that symptoms of the prostate cancer may have been masked by the effects of a stroke he had five years ago, which caused pain in his hands and aches and pains in his hips and lower back.

“If I’d had access to a screening earlier on as part of a national screening programme, I might not now be looking at an incurable cancer diagnosis. I could have had an operation to remove my prostate and be looking at living longer than the six-year estimate that I have been given,” he says.

“Given that prostate cancer is a big killer, it’s high time men had the same rights as women who have access to a national breast and cervical screening programme. Men are loath to complain and are unlikely to complain about prostate conditions, most notably when trying to pee. They feel embarrassed about talking about their ‘parts’. Routine screening would revolutionise the detection of early prostate cancer and have the life-saving benefits that breast screening has had on women.”

Robert experienced side effects during his chemotherapy treatment, including sleepless nights, fatigue and a lack of energy. He describes it as feeling like his body “had been taken over by an alien”.

He and his wife Caroline were also left “virtually housebound” when the treatment reduced his immunity and meant that he needed to protect himself from potentially life-threatening infections.

The hormone treatment now means that he often experiences hot and cold flushes, and recently, his legs and ankles have become swollen. He has also struggled with depression and anxiety.  

However, Robert has recently found comfort in supporting charities like Yorkshire Cancer Research and says he is in “good spirits”.

He recently joined Yorkshire Cancer Research’s Public and Patient Involvement Group, which gives people affected by cancer the opportunity to help shape the charity’s research and services.

He has welcomed IMProVE, a new prostate screening trial funded by the charity, which will test a more effective way to screen for prostate cancer with the aim of providing crucial evidence for the development of a national screening programme.  

“I am delighted that Yorkshire Cancer Research has had the foresight and funds to initiate the IMProVE clinical trial,” he says. “It’s a game changer for men. And of course, as a Yorkshireman I’m proud that it’s a Yorkshire-based cancer charity that has led the way to introducing this exciting and innovative trial which could potentially save the lives of thousands of men in Yorkshire and nationally.”