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Birthday present saves father from cancer
Dad was coming up to his fiftieth birthday and the family had the well
known problem of what to give a man who has most of the things he wants. They saw an
advertisement for half price medicals being offered by BUPA and because Dad was over weight and
something of a workaholic they clubbed together and gave it to him as a bit of a joke.
Chris Parkes, the Dad in the story, said "I would never have gone for the
medical if the family had not sprung it on me. I thought I would sail through it. I
was in total shock when it showed I had prostate cancer. But we caught it so early the
doctors were able to treat it effectively. It was an odd present, but it saved my life. I
have no doubts about that."
Matthew Parkes, the
22 year old son takes up the story "Dad was so confident that he would pass all the tests
with flying colours. He dashed in to pick up the results as he drove me home from
work. I waited in the car and when he got back he was in floods of tears. We were all
in shock but it was dealt with so quickly and now he's got the all clear."
Within three weeks of diagnosis he had had blood tests, a biopsy and an
operation to remove the life threatening tumour. Now Chris says "It has put things in
perspective. I've been given a second chance and I'm going to make the most of it - work
less, spend more time with my wife and family and enjoy myself more." An account of
Chris Parkes operation and the way it came about was reported in the Bucks Star. The lady
reporter, who interviewed the family to learn that Chris had had his prostate gland removed, asked
innocently "How's his other one?"
Subsequently Matthew Parkes and his friend Phil Sayers who work as Disc Jockeys
in the evenings ran a charity fund raising event in a Leicester Square club to raise a most
impressive £1150 for Prostate Research Campaign UK
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