Gavin Walsh's cancer diagnosis in 2010 at the age of 46 understandably came as a shock. Living in Florida at the time with his wife Ellen, the news that he had prostate cancer hit him like a ton of bricks.
The first step was blood tests. One specific test is a 'prostate-specific antigen' (or more commonly referred to by its acronym, PSA). PSA is a protein produced by both malignant and non-malignant tissue in the prostate gland. However, these tests can yield a false/positive result. That initial first test came back positive.
"So, the medics re-ran them in the off-chance there was a mistake. They did this as they didn't want to prematurely do an invasive biopsy unless it was completely necessary," Mr. Walsh explained.