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Joke leads to brothers' prostate cancer diagnosis

Royal Surrey County Hospital Two men sit side by side in a hospital. One is in a white plastic hospital gown after treatment. Royal Surrey County Hospital
Prostate cancer is commonly symptomless, says the NHS

Two brothers have described being told they had cancer within weeks of each other.

Keith Powell's prostate was removed just 12 weeks after his brother Alan, 66, had the same operation at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

Alan said he visited his GP for testing after "laughing about the amount of times men of a certain age get up in the night" while on a lads' holiday.

He was later diagnosed with prostate cancer, with surgeons at the Royal Surrey using robotic technology to remove his prostate in October.

'Bit of a shock'

"I had no symptoms at all and considered myself to be a reasonably active man," said the retired father-of-two from Lightwater, Surrey.

"What happened next was a bit of a shock."

News of Alan's diagnosis led his older brother Keith, 68, to get tested, which resulted in him receiving his own prostate cancer diagnosis.

The same consultant urological surgeon, Wissam Abou-Chedid, who operated on Alan, also operated on his brother.

Royal Surrey County Hospital Hospital staff gather around a patient and his brother. Royal Surrey County Hospital
Keith said he felt lucky the cancer was caught before it spread

"If he hadn't decided to get tested neither of us would have known that we had cancer," said Keith.

"I feel very fortunate that we both caught it before it had spread."

The prostate is a small gland, about the size of a walnut, in the pelvis and is part of the male reproductive system.

Sometimes prostate cancer does not have any symptoms and it usually develops slowly over many years, according to the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.

What symptoms should people check for?

Common symptoms include:

  • needing to urinate more frequently - particularly at night
  • difficulty starting to urinate, weak flow and it taking a long time
  • blood in urine or semen

These symptoms can be caused by other conditions as well - but it is important to have any changes checked.

We explain what warning signs to look out for

Prostate Cancer UK says one in eight men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

Mr Abou-Chedid said people were two-and-a-half times more likely to get prostate cancer if their father or brother had it.

It is most common in men over 75, with cases in under-50s being rare.

It is also more common in black men.

Prostate Cancer UK has a 30-second online risk checker.

Speak to your GP if you think you are at higher risk of prostate cancer.

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