SCOUT leader Stewart Robinson did not tell anyone he had cancer for two weeks after he was diagnosed and went back to work the same afternoon.
The news had come purely by chance, having had a diabetes test at his GP surgery which revealed a small amount of blood - invisible to the human eye - in his urine.
"At the time I didn't tell my wife, Moira, about my cancer because she teaches and I knew that knowing of the diagnosis would make concentration difficult," 71-year-old Stewart said.
"Generally, I was fairly confident that my cancer would be cured because it had been caught early."
As November begins, men all over the world will take part in the Movember campaign – growing a moustache throughout the month to raise money and awareness for testicular health and prostate cancer.
The Movember initiative has raised £346 million to date and funded over 800 programmes in 21 countries. This work is saving and improving the lives of men affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems.
And Stewart of Troutbeck Crescent, Bramcote - who has had a prostatectomy to remove his prostate gland and has been cancer free for fourteen years - will be among them and has urged others to join him because the disease can devastate lives.
The locum optician and assistant scout Leader of the 2nd Bramcote Scout troop: "Cancer doesn't affect just the patient, it affects the family too.
"Forty five per cent of men with prostate cancer have no symptoms at the time of diagnosis like me.
"I really want men to realise that. And, unlike breast or testicular cancer, there's no way to check for lumps. One of the aims of the group is to get men to be diagnosed early.
"You may not want to think about the possible side effects of prostate cancer, but anything is better than wearing a wooden overcoat."
And anyone suffering with prostate cancer can find help in the city in the Nottingham Prostate Cancer Support Group, which Stewart is chair of.
He said: "I didn't find out about it [the group] until after I was clear, but it would have been so helpful at the time to know other people who had been or were going through what I was. Being diagnosed with cancer makes you think that you're on your own. But you don't have to be."
The Nottingham Support Group has about 200 members and meets every two months at the Maggie's Centre in the City Hospital, with events including speakers, discussion groups and meals out.
And support is important, according to Ray Sylvester, who is one of the group's committee members and a survivor of both prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
He said: "It's so important to have places like Maggie's and NPCSG so you know you're not alone and men don't feel embarrassed.
To join the group email npcsg@live.co.uk or call 0115 911 1162.
Are you getting involved in the charity cause? Let us know and send us your pictures. Email newsdesk@nottinghampost.com
