Prostate Awareness Founder & Recently Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Sufferer Calls Men To Arms
Graham Fulford, MBE, Founder and Trustee of the Warwick based Charity GFCT is calling all men over 40 to consider having a PSA test to check their risk of developing prostate cancer.
Having formed the Charity in 2004 following the late diagnosis of a close friend and relative, both of whom lost their battle with this insidious disease, Graham and the many Groups he works with have carried out over 320,000 PSA tests since and have helped find over 3200 prostate cancers to date.
Graham recently has found he has developed prostate cancer.
Graham says of his own diagnosis "I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Many men don't find out until it's too late because of a lack of a national screening programme. Whilst my own PSA has never been particularly high I've kept a regular eye on it and following advice from my own Urologist undertook an MRI Multi Parametric Scan last October which lead to an MRI Fusion biopsy and subsequent diagnosis".
One of the treatment options he's considering is HIFU a Focal Therapy aimed at reducing the harmful effects of surgery or radiotherapy by up to 80%.
Graham said "I'm a great supporter of this relatively new form of treatment. Whilst it's not suitable for all men, where it is, it has many benefits. Not only the reduction in harmful side effects but the fact in most cases it's only a day case with a much quicker recovery time".
In fact he's so committed to making this treatment available to as many men as possible who don't have access to private medicine he's formed GFCT Focal Therapy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GFCT Ltd, with the aim of raising funds to acquire equipment to be rented to cash strapped NHS Hospitals. He went on to say "We've developed an exciting business model which will enable Hospitals to not only provide this new treatment option to patients but also create additional funding for their day to day activities. In addition to significant funding from GFCT on a loan basis I'll be making a substantial personal investment to support this project. It's estimated around 12,000 men per annum could benefit from this treatment if the facilities were available. Only around 1,000 are currently receiving it, virtually all of them in the South. It's a classic case of a North/ South divide".
If anyone would like to discuss the possibility of supporting this ground breaking initiative, which is geared to repayable "ethical loans", they're very welcome to contact him for an initial discussion on 07831 156071 or via grahamfulford47@gmail.com.
In the meantime men and women can visit www.mypsatests.org.uk or myhealthtests.org.uk to book a PSA or other health tests at one of the many events run by GFCT or can order a home testing kit if preferred.
Don’t wait for symptoms. Book your test TODAY.