Exeter Chiefs say it's 'time to talk about cancer and take action'
More than 1,200 South West men die from prostate cancer every year and 56,000 men are living with prostate cancer in the region - three-and-a-half times the capacity of Sandy Park
Exeter Chiefs have teamed up with Prostate Cancer UK, after the death of club legend Robin Cowling last month
The club's CEO Tony Rowe has also been diagnosed with prostate cancer and 'believes talking is the key to raising more awareness of the most common cancer in the UK – and that starts with Chiefs fans'.
“I consider myself one of the lucky ones,” he said.
“I think the problem is men don't talk about it, do we? And if I'd not been in a pub and had a beer and had a conversation with my mate, I would have just put up with standing in the middle of the night, standing there for 10 minutes, desperately wanted to pee and nothing happening.”
Rowe’s friend had been diagnosed following similar symptoms, so he went to see his GP and after a range of tests, was diagnosed.
He said: “I felt lucky there was a good chance they had caught it in time. But I just wanted to get on with the treatment.
“I started radiotherapy in July 2023 and for a month, every morning I had a 9am appointment so I could come to work afterwards. It was OK to start with, but by the end of the end of the month it was awful. But my view is I'm still alive.
“For the past three years I’ve had an injection in the stomach every quarter, and my PSA has receded now and it's down to 0.03, which is almost non-existent.”
He added: "Prostate cancer affects one in eight guys and thousands die ever year. If you add in the senior academy boys, we've probably got about 80 guys here, right? Ten of them will be diagnosed. That’s shocking.
“We don't seem to talk about prostate cancer at all in rugby. Are we too embarrassed to? Thousands of men are dying of this disease. For God's sake, let's talk about it.”