Prostate cancer group helps men live 'happy lives'

A man who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023 has said a local group for people with the condition helped him get his head around his diagnosis.

The PROSTaid group, which meets monthly at The Cradock Arms in Leicester, aims to create a support group for men so they can live "happy, fulfilling lives" after their diagnoses.

Gareth Jones, from Blaby, said he turned to the group three months after he received his diagnosis in 2023.

He said being surrounded by other men who have the disease gave him a space to seek support.

The group is one of five run by the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire wing of the national charity.

Four specialised cancer nurses are also funded by the group, three in Leicestershire and one in Northampton.

Jones said the groups "really work".

"You have to get your head around a lot of things quite quickly after you get diagnosed," he said.

"Coming here does give you support.

"It's quite strange, all of a sudden you're in a group of men, and sometimes their partners, and we all have a prostate condition.

"Someone I've become very close with had a very similar diagnosis. There's a great support in that.

"To talk to someone who has gone through exactly the same thing."

Rob Banner, trustee at the regional wing of the charity, said he hoped the group can offer support to anyone who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"The idea is so that men can come and talk and express how they feel and how they can get their mind around the disease," he said.

"For a lot of people it's a shock having prostate cancer but we find we have great success getting to people and helping them cope with it.

"We're very keen to see that they have happy fulfilling lives despite having prostate cancer."

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