An early diagnosis gives you more options

It didn’t come as a surprise when Stephen Dwyer-Lapthorne was told he had prostate cancer. What did amaze him was how simple and fast his treatment would be. He shares his story below to raise awareness about this important men’s health issue during “Movember”.

“It all kicked off in 2025. I noticed I was getting up in the night to wee more often and it reminded me of four years earlier when something similar had happened,” he tells MedTech Views. “At that time I’d had a blood test but everything came back normal.”

Fast-forward to 2025 and Stephen was due a regular checkup, so he took the opportunity to ask for another blood test to check his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.

From blood test to diagnosis

“My result was still in the normal range, but my PSA level had increased from 2.7 to 4.9 [nanograms per millilitre], which triggered further investigations.” PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland, a male reproductive organ that sits just below the bladder. When PSA levels are high, it can indicate an issue with your prostate health such as prostate cancer.

The next steps were a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to take images of Stephen’s prostate and identify any suspicious areas or lesions that might indicate cancer. This informed doctors, who decided that it was necessary to analyse a sample of his prostate tissue (biopsy).

“None of these tests were painful, but the biopsy confirmed that I did have prostate cancer. Luckily, it was contained within the prostate and hadn’t spread,” explains Stephen. “I was given options ranging from surgery to hormones and radiotherapy. I’d been doing some research and had heard about a procedure called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy or SABR, which seemed attractive to me.”

A less disruptive treatment

SABR is a high-precision treatment that combines multiple intense high-energy rays to target the tumour from different angles and destroy the cancer cells. It’s delivered in just five sessions over a two–week period instead of the standard radiotherapy treatment of 20 sessions over four to eight weeks. Aside from the benefit of fewer sessions, it has the potential to reduce side effects on healthy tissue.

Stephen didn’t want to undergo surgery, so he opted for testosterone-lowering hormone therapy to shrink the tumour, followed by radiotherapy. “The SABR treatment that I wanted wasn’t available at my hospital, so I opted for the standard radiotherapy,” he says. “I had to wait, but this turned out to be a stroke of good luck. By the time I was ready for treatment, my hospital was able to offer the SABR treatment.”

“Having the SABR treatment was much less disruptive and I didn’t feel anything,” comments Stephen. “I’ve finished my treatment so now it’s just monitoring for me with PSA tests every two months, then every three months. My PSA has decreased and is well within the normal range. As for side effects, they’ve been minimal.”

Recovery & raising awareness

Stephen is keen to spread the word about his experience and urges men not to ignore symptoms like frequent urination, weak urine flow or urgency, among others. “Don’t be shy about going to the doctor,” he advises. “There’s nothing to be fearful about and getting an early diagnosis gives you more treatment options.”

Movember is an annual global charity event held every November to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues.