Case study: It was hard to take in all that information

Charlie Hogg, 65, a retired civil servant, was diagnosed with prostate cancer seven years ago.

He said news had come “out of the blue” because he had never experienced any symptoms and the disease was only found following a general health check-up.

“It was a particularly traumatic experience because I had no idea that cancer was a possibility,” he said. “It was a lot to take in during one conversation because I was listening to lots of options and information but none of it was really being absorbed.”

Charlie, from Linlithgow, West Lothian, chose to have surgery and he then went on to become an active member of the Edinburgh and Lothian Prostate Cancer Support Group to help provide support for other men in his position.

He said: “It is hard to take all of the information in. It will make it easier to absorb.”