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My brother John was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2019 after a conversation with an NHS consultant on a holiday flight to Barcelona. Funny how these things happen........  Within weeks John had been MRI scanned and biopsied and given the news that he had Prostate Cancer. Shocked to the core at this news,  he took all the advice available and what followed was a nerve sparing Radical Prostatectomy (in short he had his Prostate removed).  At a relatively young 55 years old, his consultant recommended that he advised any male siblings to get themselves checked out as the cancer was quite aggressive.  So in January 2020 I saw my GP who did some tests and reported back that everything seemed OK. However, given my brothers diagnosis he thought it best to send me for an MRI scan.  I had that in Feb 2020 and was shocked to discover I too had a shadow on my Prostate which was confirmed as cancerous via biopsy in March 2020... Covid Lockdown ensued with the summer of 2020 spent worrying about this unknown "thing" inside me.  In October I had another biopsy and MRI that confirmed a rapidly growing cancer and within 6 weeks I too had a radical prostatectomy.  

Reading all this, it all seems so straightforward but it's nothing of the sort......... the sense of shock at hearing the "C" word...... the difficulty of telling close family who rely on you as their "rock"........ the endless reading of research papers, pamphlets and hospital documentation.  It's mind blowing, scary, upsetting but somehow you have to remain strong and retain belief in the NHS.  And did they come up trumps..... of course they did.  John and I live at opposite ends of the country but the service we both received from Clatterbridge and Arrow Park hospitals for myself and Frimley Park and Royal Surrey, Guildford for John was completely brilliant and we can't thank the NHS staff enough. If the NHS weren't enough then the love and support from friends and family got us through the tough times.

We are both now on the road to full recovery. Regular blood tests are taken and as it stands we are both free from cancer and looking forward to a brighter future.

So how do we repay our gratitude............  by trekking to Everest Base Camp how else!!!?

John, myself (Gwyn) and our 2 great Friends; Mark Reidford and Richy Newlands are attempting the 130Km Trek to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK.  This 14 day Trek, at altitudes of up to 5400m, will take place in March 2022.  We believe we are all fit enough (and foolish enough) to make the attempt but altitude sickness is the big unknown and we just hope we can get through to the end.  As team 4MENOFMEN we hope to raise funds for the Ultimate Man Of Men, the Prostate Cancer UK pin badge man. Without their research we'll never find a cure for this nasty disease.  But more than that, the support we received from Prostate Cancer UK after being diagnosed and through to today has been unbelievable.  Regular dialogue, lots of email support and lots of knowledge that "you're not alone"....... John and I cannot thank them enough.  So please help us with a donation.  Any amount is hugely appreciated.  Please also take the time to pass this page onto friends and family and let's see what we can achieve.

For everyone's information and to hopefully encourage donations, we are paying all our costs of travel and accommodation personally.  We are NOT relying on your donations to cover a single penny of our costs. 100% of your donation goes to Prostate Cancer UK.

As a final note.... To Mark and Richy, a massive thank you for doing this for us and with us and we cannot thank you enough for joining us in our 4MENOFMEN Trek.

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