A Perthshire firefighter who battled prostate cancer is urging men to be more open about their health issues in a bid to save lives.
Grant Maclachlan, an on-call firefighter based at Auchterarder Fire Station for more than 30 years, has revealed wife Sandra urged him to go to the doctor after he experienced difficulty in the bedroom.
A doctor’s appointment in February 2023 eventually led to a prostate cancer diagnosis after Grant underwent tests.
The 55-year-old said: “I very rarely go to a doctor.
“I class myself as fit and healthy, but my wife said: ‘Maybe you need some little blue pills’.
“Men tend to get embarrassed about talking about these things, but I listened to her.
“I went to the doctor.”
After further investigation, the father of three was given the devastating diagnosis that he had cancer.
Grant’s dad, Alastair, also a firefighter for 25 years, passed away in 2023 aged 84 due to melanoma cancer.
He previously had prostate cancer but never spoke about that diagnosis to his son, who only learned of it four years ago.
Grant said: “I know it’s difficult, but people have got to talk about these things.”
In May 2023, he underwent an operation to remove his prostate, resulting in a catheter being fitted.
World Cancer Day
Back home, Grant was recovering well until a blood clot put him back in hospital for five days.
Just weeks later, he received another devastating diagnosis that a separate growth had been discovered on his kidney.
“It was totally unrelated, and they were 99.9% sure it was cancerous,” said Grant.
“I had never heard of kidney cancer and there isn’t a test for it, other than a scan.”
Surgeons acted quickly and operated on his kidney.
Two weeks later, Grant got a call to say the procedure had been a success and no further treatment was required.
“I feel great and very lucky,” he said.
“It was my wife who made me go to the doctors with the prostate issue which led to an early diagnosis.”
Grant returned to operational duties after almost seven months off.
“The worst bit was being told the prostate cancer could have spread to the bones and it was three weeks of hell waiting for that result,” said Grant.
“It was my wife and family who got me through this, they have been brilliant.”
Grant now wants to use World Cancer Day to encourage men to talk but admits it wasn’t easy for him to open up.
“You have to talk about things, and if there is something wrong you have to go to the GP.
“It may be nothing but it may be something.
“Luckily, I went and got checked out.”
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