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Kenny, who revealed his shock diagnosis on TV last week, yesterday urged all men over 50 to get themselves checked. The Scotland rugby union hero, 50, who is married to sports presenter Gabby Logan, said: “I cried my eyes out, thinking no way do I want to leave my kids at only 17 or Gabby. It was the first time I really thought I wouldn’t make it.”
The former London Wasps winger said he and Gabby, 49, held hands on the sofa at their home in south-west London in June, as a doctor broke the devastating news in an online call.
Then their children, twins Lois and Reuben, walked in and overheard.
Kenny said: “Our eyes were welling up. Lois came in and heard what was being said, then Reuben arrived. We held each other afterwards and cried.
“Reuben said, ‘I need you around, Dad. But you’ll smash this’. The
confidence and belief of my mindset came from my kids.”
Kenny says he was lucky his cancer was spotted – he made a snap decision to get checked in 2020 while Gabby was starting hormone replacement therapy. He said: “She was making sure she wouldn’t fall off a cliff like women who suddenly have menopause symptoms.
“I thought I should find out what was happening to my hormones.
“What if in four years’ time I was at the bottom of the cliff, looking up at my wife, who was fine because she was on HRT? I love her and don’t want to lose what we’ve got.”
The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that sits below the bladder and produces fluid for sperm.
Kenny’s tests included checking his levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Repeatedly high levels of the protein can suggest cancer.
An MRI scan showed his prostate was slightly swollen, but a third test in January this year showed his PSA levels had risen. A biopsy later revealed he had cancer.
Kenny is recovering well, following surgery in June. Two weeks ago he received “the biggest phew” when doctors said he was free of cancer.
He wants men over 50 to have their PSA levels tested, warning that in the early stages of the condition, there may be no symptoms.
Kenny said his doctor told him 40 per cent of his friends could have the disease and not know it. He added: “It chilled my blood and that’s why I want to tell men to have a PSA test at 50.”
Every year around 52,300 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the UK and 12,000 people die.
However, Prostate Cancer UK has said the PSA test is not accurate enough and produces too many false positives. The charity is ploughing millions into clinical studies to find a better diagnostic tool.
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