Within two weeks of his 64th birthday, Neil Adams suffered a heart attack and then found out his prostate cancer was back.

“I’d gone back to work too soon after my initial treatment,” says the man who runs the oven Angel business servicing the Bay of Plenty.

“So when I got the news in June that I was sick again, I realised I needed to take a step back and take the time to heal.”

This month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – and Neil is a strong advocate of men getting checked to stand a better chance of surviving prostate cancer.

“It affects the waterworks, so it does tend to be something that guys chat about amongst themselves. That’s not the issue. But in Blue September, men actually need to follow through and get a blood test. It’s that easy and it could save your life.

“If you catch it early, you may even avoid radiation or chemo.”

Figures from the Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ show one in eight New Zealand men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.

More than 4000 Kiwi men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

For Neil, getting diagnosed with Grade Two cancer for the first time in March 2022 was a shock.

“You go through stages of grief, really,” says Neil.

“You don’t have a broken bone or a bruise so no one can see that you’re sick, and even I kept thinking: ‘Why am I feeling so tired and so sad?’ Radiation treatment is not pleasant. It has side effects, but I kept working through it.”

Neil says battling cancer a second time round has made him realise how many men could benefit from simply getting checked.

“If one person goes out and gets a test, I’ll be happy. Just get it done! Why on earth wouldn’t you have a blood test to save your life or to improve the quality of the time you have left?”

The NZ Prostate Management and Referral Guidelines recommend men aged 50 and above discuss prostate testing with their doctor (usually GP).

For men with a known family history of prostate cancer, this discussion should begin at 40 years of age as they may be at higher risk.

Neil says contact your GP today to request a prostrate test.

More information on getting tested, is at: https://prostate.org.nz/getting-tested/