Edinburgh man urges others to get tested after diagnosis while 'fit and healthy'
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An Edinburgh grandad and keen golfer is urging men to go to their GP - after being floored by a cancer diagnosis.
Kenny Livingston made an appointment for a check-up after a close friend was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had no symptoms, and describes himself as 'fit and healthy'.
Kenny, who plays golf at least twice a week, was completely blindsided by his own diagnosis - and wants men who are 50 and over to get checked as soon as they can. The 68-year-old, from Corstorphine, is 'glad he caught it early' and had a procedure to remove the prostate.
A few years after the operation, Kenny received a call while on the golf course telling him the cancer had returned. Through radiotherapy, doctors have managed to control it.
Now, Kenny has raised over £21,000 for Prostate Scotland as he looks to spread the message of early testing.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, he said: "Back in 2019, one of my best friends had sent a message to all his pals saying that he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He said you all need to go and get a check-up.
"He had no symptoms, and I thought, well there's no harm in doing it. I was 62 at the time.
"They said if you're over 4 nanograms per millilitre of Prostate Specific Antigen, you've maybe got an issue, and that was something like 4.9. I went back a month later and it was now down to 4.5. Still getting close, but not quite 4.
"It lasted about four months and I got down to 4.1 and the doctor said to me, I'm actually going to not refer to you. I said, Well, I've gone this far, is it worth getting a check-up in the hospital?
"And then the rest was history because I was diagnosed probably within a month once I got a biopsy that I had prostate cancer. I caught it very early, which was good, it was more of a shock because you know I kept thinking that cancer is when something is wrong with you. This felt very silent. I just didn't know what was going on."
Kenny had his prostate removed in an operation, and was told the 'theory' was that once it was out - the cancer would go with it. Following the procedure at Christmas time in 2019, he was in 'good health'.
He continued: "I had great support from my family, hospital staff were good as well.
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"The prostate was removed, straightforward operation - not nice - but obviously something you just have to go through with. Recovery was slow, but it was all good. I got quarterly and six monthly check-ups.
"I remember I was on the golf course. It was maybe three years later, and I got a message from the doctors asking me to give them a call. So I stopped in the middle of the golf course and I phoned and they said, listen, you seem to have got some other lymph nodes that have got some cancer in them.
"I thought, how can that be possible when they removed it? They said sometimes things just happen to stay around."
Kenny was told he could go through radiotherapy 'in his own time'. He began the treatment in January 2023.
He added: "I think it was 22 sessions, which sounds a lot, and it was Monday to Friday, but it was very, very quick.
"I was lucky if I was in for about, you know, probably five minutes in the theatre, but you have to prepare for it. Then since then I've been getting my six monthly check-ups and they're fine. I think the hospital are sick of seeing me, but I need to go every six months and I think my PSA is something like 0.001 - so if it goes up at all its an issue.
"You always have concerns in the back of your mind before you go for your check-up, you and that's that's not a nice feeling. But at the end of the day it's something I'm quite positive about, and I've had no issues again, so, so fingers crossed I'm going to keep getting checked and I'll be fine."
While Kenny is now out the other side, he feels strongly that getting tested early could have saved his life. He told us: "In my experience when I went for my biopsy, there was probably eight other men at the same time getting it, and I was by far the youngest. The rest of them looked as if they were in their 80s.
"I would say anybody over 50, it costs you nothing. you've got to go and get it done. It's a silent illness, which means nobody knows what you've got inside you. Nobody knows when it's going to come up and attack you.
"I think there's a lot of people now who are getting prostate cancer at an early age, but my belief is if you can get that scene too early, there's a very, very good chance of success rate.
"I want to enjoy my life. I've got children, I've got grandchildren. I want to see them grow up.
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"I would say I'm quite fit and healthy. I still go to the gym. I play golf twice a week. My wife would probably say my diet is not brilliant, but I'd say I'm in good shape for a 68-year-old and I'm not sure I would be if I hadn't done that test six years ago."
Kenny spent eight months putting together a charity dinner for Prostate Scotland, which raised over £21,000.
He added: "It probably took me the best part of eight months to prepare, so a lot of work involved in it.
"We had the dinner in February this year, and it was close to 300 people at Tynecastle, which was a lot of people as well, so it was good money for Heart and Midlothian. Before the event I was probably quite keen to maybe raise about maybe 8,000, so I never in any wildest dreams thought I could get to you as much as 21,000. That was just amazing."
Prostate Scotland charity bosses said the disease is the most common cancer among men in the country.
They added: "Whilst the number of people diagnosed with prostate cancer in Scotland is increasing, so have survival rates, especially when symptoms have been recognised, an early diagnosis made and treatment started.
"Worryingly though, not all men will have any symptoms in the early stages. Some men may have this condition in later years without it leading to any problems.
"As men get older, the risk of developing prostate cancer increases. Before 40, it's very uncommon, but by the age of 80, 80% of men will have some cancerous cells in their prostate, although most of these men will never need treatment and some will never know anything about it."
You can find out more on the Prostate Scotland site here.
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