Dear Stockopediacs

Despite my fairly high profile in ‘another place’, I’m generally quite a private person, and I usually avoid engaging publicly with others on subjects that I would regard as no-one else’s business.

However, I'm making an exception on a matter that has recently affected my health and future longevity.

Last autumn I discovered that I had prostate cancer, and following consultation and a number of investigations (bone and MRI scans and a set of biopsies), I decided to go for brachytherapy, a procedure that implants radioactive seeds in the prostate under a general anaesthetic.

I won’t know the outcome for some months, as the seeds take a while to destroy tumours and reduce a measurement known as PSA (prostate specific antigen), which is an indicator of cancerous cells in the gland.

It is a little over three weeks since the procedure, and I feel fine, and am engaging in most normal activities, including an active social life.

I get periods of tiredness, and the waterworks are a bit tricky, but nothing that requires painkillers or is stopping me getting on with things.

The reason that I am posting now is that I have signed up for a walk up Snowdon (the highest peak south of the Scottish border) in May, to raise money for the excellent prostate research charity run by University College London.

There’s a link to the Snowdon500 Challenge site at the bottom of this post.

It may not be widely known, but this type of cancer affects over 50% of all males in the population. Usually, as it’s a slow growing type of cancer, chaps die of something else first. But that leaves 10,000 men a year in UK dying as a direct consequence of the disease.

Having spent the last three or four months sifting through information on this I am convinced that there is an excellent chance of significant improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in the coming years, and I believe that money donated to this cause is money very well spent.

My ‘Just Giving’ website is here, and it would be terrific to see a substantial sum from my fellow investors for a good cause. If I die on the mountain it won’t have been for…

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

Already have an account?
Login here