DAVID HOWELLS has his goalie brother Gareth to thank for helping catch his prostate cancer so early.
Former midfielder Howells was diagnosed in January last year with the disease, which kills one man every 45 minutes in the UK, and had an operation to remove the prostate a month later.
A year and a half on, the 58-year-old’s most recent blood test revealed the cancer to be undetectable which is hugely encouraging.
Were it not for his sibling Gareth “randomly going for a PSA test”, which measures the level of a protein produced by the prostate gland in the bloodstream, the ex-Spurs star may never have had himself checked out, though.
Howells has not spoken publicly about his experience before but is doing so now as part of this month’s Prostate United campaign to raise awareness of the illness.
He told : “Gareth just got a text from his surgery suggesting he come in for a test.
“His PSA reading was very high, in the 20s and anything over three they tend to investigate.
“He was worried sick, we all were. His follow-up appointments showed he had prostate cancer. They caught it early.
“There was a bit of a spike in his reading when it’s trying to get out and that’s obviously the problem with prostate cancer.
“Once it escapes from the prostate it goes off like a firework and can affect every other single part of your body. That’s the real danger if you don’t catch it in time.
“The consultant asked if Gareth had any brothers and if so, they need to go to have a test because it’s hereditary.”
David is two years older than his brother Gareth, who was a youth player at Spurs and played for Torquay and Sutton United.
Their father had died at 57 so the brothers did not have any family history to rely on over the disease.
To play it safe, David went for a test which at first was fine, but a second test a year later showed his PSA reading to be above four, and on investigation, prostate cancer was found.
Like Gareth, David opted to remove the prostate via an operation.
David said: “Our only thought was get it out. I just wanted it out of my body before it did any further damage.
“Having spoken to lots of men who have and haven’t had the operation to remove it, the biggest taboo is the loss of erections and the thought of your sex life being finished.
“So it’s a tricky one to talk about. But, touch wood, I feel normal in every sense.
“I know that’s not always the case, it depends on on the margins of when the prostate was removed and how much nerve damage there was during the operation.
“But the robotic operation that they do now has got it down to such fine margins that they can remove the prostate incredibly efficiently and more and more people now are not noticing any difference.”
Thankfully, both David and Gareth are now in a place where they are having regular blood tests which are showing their prostate cancer to be undetectable.
David is due for another test in March and if that shows it is undetectable, then he will be back to annual tests.
No doubt the experience has been traumatic for Howells and his family.
But he is grateful it was all caught so early, to the extent that there was no pain, and is urging other men to get themselves checked out.
The ex-midfielder, who racked up 335 appearances for Spurs between 1986 and 1998, added: “I do feel a bit of a fraud because my cancer journey hasn’t involved any illness.
“Obviously once I was diagnosed and you hear those words ‘You’ve got prostate ’, it was a bit of a bombshell moment.
“But the way my consultant spoke to me just filled me with confidence really in terms of how early we had caught it.
“I feel fantastic, not exactly back to normal but not far off it.
“If you have symptoms in your 40s, go and have the test, if you have any family history go and have the test.
“And certainly if you’re black then you should be having a test in your 40s as black men are twice as likely to get prostate cancer so it’s massively important for that ethnicity to to keep on top of it.”
David Howells is supporting Prostate United and taking on the one rival every club faces: prostate cancer. Because every 45 minutes, one man dies from prostate cancer in the UK – that’s half a football match.
This October, throughout the UK – and beyond – fans, players, kit men, physios, gaffers and famous faces have been running, walking and competing to help their clubs rise the fundraising table. At present top the fundraising table with more than £40,000 while Spurs sit eight with over £14,000.
Support the club that matters more. Find your team, donate and save men’s lives at prostateunited.prostatecanceruk.org.
