Paul Graham never had symptoms. Not one. He went for a PSA test — prostate-specific antigen — because his colleague Kieran Clark was dying of prostate cancer at age 38.
The test came back positive. Graham, from Paisley, had surgery to remove his prostate.
He is waiting to learn if he needs radiotherapy. Kieran Clark died in November. He was an air traffic control engineer for NATS, the company that manages UK airspace.
Before he passed away, his male colleagues on the NATS Outstations team got tested. A spokesperson said Kieran was able to save Paul’s life through his own death.
That is the backstory to a 1,000-mile bike ride now underway. Two of those colleagues — Rob Thick, from Prestwick, and Hadley Gibson, from Carlisle — set off from Land’s End on July 1. They are heading to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Isles.
The route runs the length of Britain, from Kieran’s most southerly work site to his most northerly one. They plan to finish July 10. The ride is a tribute.
But it is also a blunt message: get tested. Prostate cancer killed a 38-year-old man who worked alongside them.
His death prompted a group of men to check their own health. One of them caught the disease early, with zero warning signs. Thick and Gibson are raising money and awareness.
Their fundraising target is £20,000. As of July 3, they had collected more than £7,700.
The page they set up states plainly: “The ride is being organised in memory of our good friend and colleague Kieran Clark, who we sadly lost in November to prostate cancer at the young age of 38.” It adds that Kieran worked as an air traffic control engineer for NATS, and that the ride traces his work footprint from one end of the country to the other.
“Kieran was someone many of us worked alongside, shared good times with and his loss has been deeply felt by a huge number of people,” the page says. The cyclists were due to pass through their home regions between July 5 and July 7. That means Prestwick and Carlisle saw them mid-route.
Ten days in the saddle, 100 miles a day, for a friend gone too young. Paul Graham is the reason this story matters beyond one workplace.
He had no symptoms. He had no reason to suspect anything. He got tested because a dying colleague prompted it.
The test caught cancer. Surgery followed.
Now he waits on the next step. A spokesperson for the group said it plainly: Kieran was able to save his life through his death. That is not a sentimental line.
It is a fact, backed by a medical result. Prostate cancer is slow and quiet. It does not always announce itself.
Men often ignore it. Kieran Clark’s colleagues did not ignore it.
One of them is alive because of that choice. The ride ends July 10. The fundraising page stays open.
The message does not change: get tested. Ask your doctor.
Kieran Clark was 38. He worked as an air traffic control engineer. He died.
His friends are cycling 1,000 miles so that other men do not have to.
