A Matter of Life & Death: Ten Years and Counting

This article was originally written for The Circular, the monthly magazine for small business owners published by the Entrepreneurs Circle. David has been a monthly columnist since 2015.

March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, I step away from writing about marketing to share something that saved my life and might save yours or the life of someone you love.

This February marked nearly ten years since they removed my prostate.

A decade. 120 months. Over 3,600 days since I woke up from a six hour operation that was supposed to take three.

Ten years of annual PSA tests, each one triggering a small wave of anxiety until the results come back clear.

Ten years of watching my grandchildren grow, building our family business, and diving headfirst into AI like a man half my age.

Ten years I might not have had if I’d ignored what I saw that night in April 2015. Ten years that have taught me the difference between being lucky and being smart enough to act when it matters.

This article is aimed at us guys. Our health, our reluctance to visit the doctor (especially when it’s about our important little places), and why that needs to change. But if you’re a woman reading this, please don’t skip past. Your husbands, partners, fathers, brothers, and sons may need a nudge to take their health seriously. Sometimes that nudge saves a life.

The Night That Changed Everything

I’d just finished delivering a Google Ads course at EC’s National Support Centre with Jo Davies. I caught my usual flight home to Scotland, arriving in Dundee just before midnight.

Got ready for bed. Made one last visit to the bathroom.

And saw blood.

Like most men, I immediately started inventing logical explanations. Airport tomato soup. Too much coffee. Getting older. It’ll sort itself out overnight.

Except it didn’t.

The present Mrs Browne insisted I see our GP. He examined me (though not the kind of digital exam I’d hoped for) and immediately referred me to our NHS teaching hospital on the “fast track system.”

I knew then what was being investigated.

The Journey Nobody Wants

PSA blood test rising. MRI scan. CT scan. Cystoscopy. Two biopsies. Bone scan.

Each test was another step closer to an answer I didn’t want to hear.

The verdict: prostate cancer. Some slow growing cells that might never cause problems. But mixed in among them were aggressive cells intent on wreaking havoc if not dealt with immediately.

In February 2016, Professor Ghulam Nabi performed a laparoscopic prostatectomy. What should have been a three hour operation became six hours, because I was apparently more attached to my prostate than anyone realised.

But they got it all. The cancer was contained. Ten years later, I’m still here.

What’s Changed in a Decade

When I wrote the first version of this article in 2016, awareness was lower. Screening wasn’t standard. Men didn’t talk about it.

Then, in October 2024, Sir Chris Hoy made his announcement.

Olympic champion. Six time gold medallist. Fellow Scot. Just 48 years old. Stage 4 prostate cancer.

I’d met Chris a few years earlier at an EC event. Shaking hands with one of Scotland’s greatest athletes was an honour. Hearing his diagnosis sent shockwaves through the sporting world and beyond.

But here’s what changed: thousands of men got tested. GP surgeries were flooded with requests for PSA tests. Men started talking about it in pubs, at work, in WhatsApp groups. Chris turned his diagnosis into a campaign that’s already saving lives.

If it can happen to an Olympic champion, it can happen to any of us.

The Brutal Truth

Prostate cancer is still one of the most common cancers in men. Over 55,000 diagnosed every year in the UK. More than 11,000 deaths annually, one every 45 minutes.

It kills more men than breast cancer kills women, yet awareness and screening remain far behind.

In its early stages, it has almost no symptoms. Maybe you’re visiting the bathroom more at night. Maybe it takes longer to get started. You put it down to getting older.

That’s it. No pain. No obvious warning.

When caught early, it’s highly treatable. When ignored, it spreads and becomes incurable.

Sir Chris had no symptoms. No warning. By the time it was detected, it had already spread.

I was lucky. I acted fast.

The Call You Can’t Ignore

If you’re over 40, or if there’s any family history of prostate cancer, you need to talk to your GP about a PSA test.

It’s a simple blood test. No drama.

Yes, there’s also the digital exam. It’s uncomfortable. It takes less than 30 seconds. Thirty seconds that could buy you thirty more years.

I know what you’re thinking. “I feel fine.” “It won’t happen to me.” “I’ll get round to it.”

That’s what every man thinks until they see blood in the toilet bowl at midnight.

Honouring the Scots Who Inspire Us

Sir Chris Hoy spent his career breaking records and pushing limits. Now he’s using his platform to raise awareness, to encourage men to get tested, to remind us that early detection saves lives.

It reminds me of another great Scot, Eric Liddell, immortalised in the film “Chariots of Fire”. Both men demonstrated that true strength isn’t just about winning races. It’s about inspiring others to fight, to push through, to make a difference.

Chris is fighting his race now. Let’s honour that by taking action.

Ten Years and the Gift of Time

Every year I write this article, I’m writing as someone who’s still here. Still working. Still causing trouble. Still enjoying life.

This year, I’m writing as someone who’s had ten years they might not have had.

Ten years of memories. Ten years of growth. Ten years of watching our business evolve and our team thrive. Ten years of birthdays, Christmases, and ordinary Tuesdays that turned out to be anything but ordinary.

But I’m also writing as someone who knows too many men who ignored the symptoms. Who waited. Who thought it would sort itself out.

It won’t.

What You Can Do Right Now

Book a GP appointment. Get a PSA test. Encourage the men in your life to do the same.

If you run a business, make it normal to talk about men’s health. Consider supporting Prostate Cancer UK or sponsoring awareness campaigns.

March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Don’t let it pass without taking action.

Ignoring it won’t beat it.

Stay well,

David Browne