LABOUR TD and Minister of State Willie Penrose is urging people to undergo routine screening for cancer after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in June.
Following a routine Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test, he was sent to St James’s Hospital, Dublin, for a biopsy which revealed he had cancer of the prostate.
Had it not been for the PSA test, Mr Penrose believes he would have remained unaware of his condition as “there was no external manifestations, none of the usual signs”.
“I was caught very luckily at the early stages, that’s very important in the context of it,” he said. “It is very easy to diagnose, so very easy to treat and cure.”
Praising Dr Michael Maher and the staff at the Mater hospital – where he underwent brachytherapy treatment last week – Mr Penrose said there is “a huge network of support” for cancer sufferers.
Brachytherapy involves implanting “radioactive seeds” in the body to direct radiation at the cancer. The treatment is “very focused and very targeted”, according to the Minister who is confident that the 12-month treatment schedule will prove successful.
His medical care was timed in order to cause “minimal disruption” to his Dáil duties, he added.
Admitting he was still a bit weak after the treatment, Mr Penrose said he would be back in the Dáil on Monday and has only needed to take two days off work. He is due to be medically assessed in a month and again four months after that.
He warned men who “think they are indestructible” to have regular screening and listen to the advice of GPs because “you may not feel or observe a thing”.
“We should always pay attention to the advice of our general practitioners, particularly men who get to the age of 50 and older,” he added.
Mr Penrose (54) is a TD for Longford-Westmeath and is the Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with responsibility for Housing and Planning.