Premier League hero Shaka Hislop has announced that he is battling prostate cancer. The 56-year-old, who played for Reading, West Ham, Newcastle and Portsmouth during his 15-year professional career, shared news of his illness with fans on social media.
The former Trinidad and Tobago international said: “I have a story to tell you. About 18 months ago, I went for my annual checkup and insisted on getting a PSA test as usual. But this time, my PSA was elevated. An MRI and biopsy quickly revealed that I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer. A year ago, on December 6th to be exact, I had a radical prostatectomy. I thought that was it.”
However, Hislop’s battle was not over yet. He explained: “But six months later, my PSA rose again and another test showed that the prostate cancer had spread to my pelvis.
“I started medication immediately after that and this morning I completed seven and a half weeks of radiation treatment. The journey continues.”
Mr Hislop, who has been active as a commentator since retiring in 2007, urged men in high-risk age groups to get regular tests. “Doctors recommend that all men over the age of 50 undergo regular PSA testing. For people of African descent, the age drops to 40,” he advised.
“If you are in the UK or somewhere where PSA testing is not encouraged, you must insist on doing so.
“It doesn’t matter if there’s a history of cancer in your family. We’ve had genetic testing and found no symptoms in our family, but without going into too much detail, we’ll find out this year that that doesn’t exclude all of our relatives.”
“Men in the Caribbean have the highest death rate from prostate cancer. So let me say this to my community, my people: Please go get tested. Know your PSA and track your history.
“Prostate cancer is survivable if detected early. There are treatments. Testing saves lives. Testing saved me, too.”
