People & Lifestyle story, June 2005
| PILGRIM MALCOLM
MAKES PROGRESS - FOR PROSTATE DISEASE
Malcolm Ridley is following the footsteps of mediaeval pilgrims to raise cash to fight a disease of the 21st century As appeared in the Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser By: Andrea Kon |
Malcolm Ridley was shocked when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a simple test two years ago. Now fit and well after surgery, the 63-year-old chartered accountant from Homewood, near Dorking is planning a 140-mile ’Pilgrims Walk’ to raise money for the Prostate Research Campaign UK charity that is fighting to save men’s lives.
Malcolm had suffered none of the symptoms generally associated with prostate disease. Most men suffering from such problems find they have difficulty passing water and often have to get up to visit the bathroom several times during the night. It was only when his eagle-eyed GP picked up on a raised PSA (the initials stand for prostate specific antigen) levels in his blood during a routine well-man check that he suspected he had a problem.
"My GP said that my raised PSA, which shows the amount of prostate cells circulating round in my blood stream, was unacceptably high," he says. "He referred me to a urologist. I had a scan and a biopsy, both of which confirmed that I had prostate cancer."
"Learning you have cancer is always worrying. However, I was lucky to be referred on to Professor Roger Kirby, one of the world’s leading surgeons who works in London. He removed the prostate and with it all the cancer. Of course, I still need regular checks - and will do for some time. But Professor Kirby saved my life. It took me six weeks to recover from the surgery. And when Professor Kirby told me how he’d climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Prostate Research Campaign UK of which he is chairperson, I thought that if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me."
Professor Kirby told Mr. Ridley that he and his friends were planning to walk along Hadrian’s Wall this year as part of the charity’s ’Million Prostate Miles’ campaign, Mr. Ridley, a keen walker decided to: "do his bit."
He says he has chosen to walk from Winchester to Canterbury because that is the route taken by mediaeval pilgrims. "People came from France to visit the Shrine of St Swithins in Winchester and then walked on to what became the most famous shrine in Europe at Canterbury, where Sir Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170," he explains. "This is my own private pilgrimage of thanks."
"I have been training on my rowing machine at home. So far, the furthest I have walked is 16 miles from Burford Bridge in Dorking to Compton, along the north Downs. My daughter, Susie, 27, walked by my side."
"I expect my fund-raising walk to take eight days and plan to stay with friends and at B & B’s along the route. The Prostate Research Campaign is the only charity of its kind funding research into all kinds of prostate disease in the UK. I hope local people will sponsor me. This is all about saving lives."
If you would like to sponsor Malcolm Ridley, applications for sponsorship forms and donations should be sent to Moor Lodge, Horsham Road, Homewood, Dorking RH5 4NA.
For further information about the work of Prostate Research Campaign UK or for information about prostate disease, please review this website or contact us at the address below.