BEING TOLD you have cancer is devastating but, as Blackpool man Ted Peacock will tell you, it's not cancer but ignorance that can be the biggest danger.

Ex-Army man Ted, 65, talked to The Citizen about his own battle with prostate cancer to mark the national Men's Health Week, which started on Monday and runs until Sunday (June 16).

In particular Ted says it is younger men who need to be checking things are okay below the belt.

"I think it's embarrassment that's the root cause of the problem. One of the biggest embarrassments with any man is the thought of messing about in that area."

But he urged men to check themselves, because if a lump does turn out be cancerous the earlier it is caught the better.

Ted, who had already survived a heart attack several years ago, went to his GP after finding lumps in his testicles one morning. "I thought 'Hello? What's this?' I asked my wife to double check."

The GP referred him to the urology department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. "I was relieved that it was nothing initially to worry about," Ted said. "But then I was asked if I'd had any other problems in that area."

Crucially, Ted was suffering some discomfort during sex and it was this that led to further investigations, including a scan, and then prostate cancer was diagnosed.

"It was the fear of the unknown that bothered me, but I think that's a natural reaction. Had it not been picked up though I should imagine it would have gone too far advanced."

With the help and advice of urology consultants and nurses Ted eventually opted for radical surgery to have his prostate removed. His operation took place in January, just weeks after his wife Josephine had undergone a kidney transplant.

It was hard going, Ted admits, although he said his family were very supportive and, happily, Ted was cured of his prostate cancer.

He is careful to attend regular check-ups. He also keeps in touch with Angie McKeane, a urology nurse practitioner at the Vic.

She has been Ted's point of contact at the department throughout his illness and she too is concerned that men aren't paying enough attention to their health.

She will be one of a like-minded team staffing a men's health information stall at Boots the chemist in Houndshill Shopping Centre, Blackpool tomorrow (June 14) and Saturday from 1pm-4pm.

"Some men feel embarrassed talking to health care professionals about personal problems. The symptoms from these problems can have a varying effect on a man's quality of life, ranging from sleep disturbance and social embarrassment to the more serious symptoms associated with many urological cancers," she said.

"Men's Health Awareness Week is about highlighting the importance of early recognition of these symptoms so that advice and treatments can be initiated sooner rather than later."