Sam's Diagnosis Leads to a Life Legacy

"I started regaining my strength and my side effects slowly stopped. I began feeling like myself again and I even travelled to America in 2018"

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Sam has decided to give back to the research that saved his life by leaving a Gift in his Will.

Nothing was out of the ordinary for 63-year-old Sam Zammit at his yearly routine check-up, so he was surprised when doctors called him back two days later to explain his Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were elevated.

“I went for an MRI and full body scan, which detected three cancer cells in the prostate. In August 2017 I found out I had prostate cancer,” Sam said.

Thanks to early detection, the cancer was confined to the prostate and was treated with a non-invasive method of brachytherapy, which involves injecting 125 radioactive seeds into the prostate. The aim of the seeds is to damage the cancer cells and destroy their ability to divide and grow.

“There were many side effects I was dealing with from this treatment but the one I most struggled with was not having energy as I was used to being a very energetic person,” Sam said.

“Thankfully, I had the support of my partner Anne and my two kids, Matt and Natalie, who really were a shoulder I could lean on during the tougher times.”

Fortunately, five months after the seeds were injected into his prostate, Sam had some good news. The cancer cells began shrinking down and his PSA levels dropped to 10.

“I started regaining my strength and my side effects slowly stopped. I began feeling like myself again and I even travelled to America in 2018,” Sam said.

“I’m scared to think if I missed my yearly check-up what the outcome would have been. If I’ve learnt anything from my experience it’s that early detection is everything. I urge all men to have their yearly check-up because it could mean the difference between your chances of survival.”

Sam’s gift in his Will will be directed towards life-changing medical research into prostate cancer so that we can save the lives of more men with this devastating disease.

Click here to find out more about leaving a gift in your Will.