Rugby legend Sir Ian McGeechan says his prostate cancer is “all gone and under control” and is calling on the Government to introduce a national screening program.
In his first TV interview about his diagnosis and treatment, the only man to win a Lions tour as a player and manager spoke about the importance of more tests to detect cancer early.
Sir Ian said: “It’s shocking when a consultant tells you you have cancer.” sky news. “But looking at what treatments are available now, everyone should have the opportunity to find out early, sooner rather than later, and not rely on possible capricious decisions.”
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests are only routinely offered to over-50s, raising questions about their reliability and concerns they may miss aggressive cancers.
Sir Ian said, “I finished treatment at the end of April and had a follow-up test at the end of May, and my PSA dropped to 0.8 and virtually disappeared.”
“So to hear someone tell you that you have cancer after someone tells you that you have cancer is very special.
“I’m so happy that my prostate cancer is all gone and under control.”
McGeechan called on the government to introduce a national screening program for prostate cancer.
Now Sir Ian is using his position and platform to raise awareness, speaking to us as his rugby achievements are celebrated at Leeds Beckett University as an alumnus inducted into the new Sports Hall of Fame.
According to Prostate Cancer UK, 63,000 men are diagnosed and 12,000 die in the UK each year.
“We need government support,” Sir Ian said. “Because prostate cancer is reversible, there must be a screening program.
“And it would be a great shame if people missed the opportunity to scan rather than ask if they could, wouldn’t it?”
The UK National Screening Committee is assessing whether to launch a prostate cancer screening program requiring annual screening.
Sir Ian said: “If you have a family member with cancer, it makes sense to provide screening and educate people so they know what the symptoms are. I felt fine because I wasn’t sick.”
It was his wife who thought something was strange when he woke up twice a night to go to the bathroom and could not sleep for even 10 hours.
Sir Ian said: “We had a fantastic GP who responded immediately to the PSA test.” “Then we caught it relatively early through biopsies, MRI scans, and monitored it for a year.
“And partly because of the change in grades, they introduced me to hormone therapy and radiation therapy, so the beginning of the year was pretty intense.”
McGeechan is a member of Lions royalty, playing for the team in 1974 and 1977 and coaching the team in 1989, 1993, 1997, and 2009.
Now he has a new lease on life and is still working with Doncaster Knights. Sir Ian took part in two Lions tours as a player, winning in South Africa in 1974.
He coached on five tours, winning as manager in Australia in 1989 and South Africa in 1997.
There will always be a Five Nations Grand Slam for Scotland, which he won as manager in 1990. This is Scotland’s last major rugby title.
“I feel honored to have that opportunity,” he said.
Thank you to the NHS for his cancer treatment.
“It’s really cool to see it work so well when you can make a big difference at the right time,” he said.
