Kurt Jewson, 44, saw traces of blood in his urine back in 2014 and consulted his healthcare provider who told him that it is just an infection and will clear up.
Mr Jewson was relieved as there were no signs of blood in his urine but he was later detected with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer went undetected and it spread over a period of 12 months as prostate cancer has no early symptoms.
The common symptoms of prostate cancer include difficulty in urination, erectile dysfunction, and blood in urine or semen.
Almost 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2012 and it is one of the leading causes of cancer death among men. According to 9 News, his image has received more than 219, 640 shares.
The picture uploaded by Mr Jewson shows him in underwear and his body with scars from the surgery and a colostomy bag that hangs down from his stomach and a catheter is also seen stuck to his right leg.
Mr Jewson is awaiting another surgery and sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He said that he is uploading his picture only to spread awareness about the disease and also to show what the disease has done to him and his body. He also urges anyone who finds any symptom that can be an indicator of prostate cancer to immediately go for a blood prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test without any further delay.
The PSA test is a blood test in which the level of PSA in the blood is measured to detect the early signs of enlarged cancer. This test can be done at a GP surgery.
He wrote on to say that if his GP had taken some blood to test it for PSA then the disease would have been detected and it would have been at a manageable stage with an onset of early treatment.
"If I had known earlier, then my treatment and prognosis would have been so different," writes Mr Jewson.
We wish Mr Jewson a speedy recovery and hope that he achieves success in his initiative to spread awareness on this silent disease.