Steve Rider’s prostate tumor showed no symptoms. If his wife had not let him see a doctor, this could have been fatal

Last fall, after a 45-year career in sports broadcasting “without a single day off due to ill health,” Steve Rider learned he had prostate cancer — and that it could be fatal if he didn’t act quickly.

He didn’t have any symptoms, and without his wife Jane, “who has been the star of it all,” Steve might not have gotten a mildly elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test.

This measures the protein produced by the prostate gland and can be a sign of cancer, as well as benign problems such as an enlarged prostate.

However, Steve discovered that his 6cm tumor was very aggressive, as he tells Good Health in an exclusive interview – and in October he underwent a three-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the entire prostate.

“It’s probably given me 10 to 15 years of quality of life that I almost certainly wouldn’t have had if Jane hadn’t encouraged me to pay attention to the PSA test results,” admits Steve, 73, who has attended major sporting events such as the Olympic Games, the Football World Cup and the Formula 1 Grand Prix of, among others, ITV, BBC and Sky over the past decades.

After the PSA test, Steve went to a specialist in August who discovered ‘an abnormality’ in his prostate and referred him for further scans and a biopsy.

“I thought at my age it might be cancer,” says Steve. But when he and Jane went to listen to the results, the news was worse than he had imagined.

‘The specialist told us that the tumor was large and pressing against the wall of the prostate, and he wondered if the tumor had gotten into the lymph nodes and bones, because that is where the tumor almost always spreads. He said it could grow quickly and be fatal.”

Steve adds dryly: ‘It wasn’t the best day of our lives, but if I hadn’t gone the route I did, six months or a year later we might have heard terrible news about terminal cancer and what might happen next. would have happened. it was the worst day of our lives.”

His routine PSA test in late July was done as part of a checkup to renew a prescription for high blood pressure medication. Steve admits that neither he nor the private GP he saw noticed his slightly elevated PSA level of 6ng/ml. (For younger men this should be three or less; a value of five is acceptable for those over 70.)

However, Jane did, noting that his previous scores were around 3ng/ml – and insisted he undergo further testing.

Steve says: ‘We knew a few men in our village who were surprised when they followed up on their PSA results, so Jane let me go. However, we didn’t think it would lead to anything dramatic.”

(The couple, who live near Marlow, Buckinghamshire, have been married since 1985 and have two children: Jack, 34, a teacher and father of two, and Polly, 31, a digital content creator.)

Steve used health insurance to see a private specialist a few weeks later. He admits: ‘All I knew at the time was that men should be aware of prostate cancer, but I didn’t know what or where the prostate was.’

A digital rectal exam (which Steve said took ‘about 45 seconds – men need to get over themselves and not be afraid of it’) revealed an abnormality on one side of the prostate. He then underwent a multiparametric MRI scan, which provides more detailed images than a standard MRI (because it uses dye to highlight the blood vessels that feed a tumor), and then a PET scan.

This scan, which is not offered as standard by the NHS, checks the body for cancer by detecting a radioactive substance that is injected into a vein in the arm. This targets a protein expressed by cancer and non-cancerous cells; in prostate cancer, many copies of the protein are produced.

Steve then underwent a transperineal biopsy to take tissue samples from the prostate. Days later he was able to join Jeff Stelling’s Football March to raise almost £400,000 in memory of BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, who died of prostate cancer in 2022 and whom Steve had met a few times.

During the four-hour walk, Steve spoke to people who had prostate cancer and encountered people who had misunderstood or ignored their PSA results. “A lot of people consider it a pass or fail, but like me, it can just be the first clue that you need to do more,” says Steve.

There were also people who had quite low or variable PSA (test results), but they still had cancer. I really discovered how unreliable the PSA test can be.”

The test can produce false negative and false positive results, which can lead to advanced cancers being missed or unnecessary tests and treatments needed.

Steve discovered the results of his scan and biopsy the day after the charity walk last September.

Although he expected to be told he needed treatment, he was shocked to learn that his tumor was “heavily embedded in the prostate, rapidly growing and at the upper end of the Gleason scale.” This is a measure of what abnormal prostate cells look like; a score of eight to ten indicates aggressive cancer: Steve’s score was eight.

He was told that the most effective approach would be to remove his entire prostate. Nevertheless, Steve was relieved. “We were presented with a solution that was almost 100 percent effective,” he says. “It was chilling news, but there was a ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

The day after his keyhole operation he went home feeling good, but the next day ‘he couldn’t get out of bed; every muscle in the top half of my body was screaming,” he says. However, the operation was successful: ‘When I went back for an update in December, the consultant said my PSA level was too low to measure, so effectively zero – the best news.’

Friends including fellow TV presenter Nick Owen – who revealed his own prostate cancer diagnosis last year – gathered. ‘Nick and I compared our responses to the pelvic floor exercises we had to do – I think they were a chore – to overcome the mild urinary incontinence you can get after surgery,’ says Steve. Jane administered his anticoagulant injections and changed the drainage bag attached to his urinary catheter.

“I was sleeping in the hallway because that bag on your leg isn’t that romantic,” he says. ‘I woke up at 6.30am and remarkably Jane came in to change the bag.’

At 6ft tall, Steve has lost 10lbs since his surgery. He now weighs 12 pounds and is keen to stay fit. Although he previously led a “moderately healthy” life with regular charity walks and walks, he has now adopted healthier habits: “The late-night bottle of wine has disappeared,” he says.

A possible side effect of the surgery is erectile dysfunction. ‘I have no reason to think it won’t work anymore, but if it doesn’t, so what. I’m 73 and I have a family and grandchildren – it’s not my biggest problem.

‘There’s a little problem with the urinary tract; the sprinkler system works a bit irregularly. It’s all part of the glorious outrage and humor of it all.”

Steve would like to share his experiences to increase awareness among men. He has also decided that it is time to leave his career as a presenter behind and enjoy life with his family.

“Cancer changed me,” he says. ‘I’ve still got a year left at ITV and that will probably be it.

‘We really enjoy looking after the grandchildren three days a week, doing the school run and we love traveling.

“I have been reminded of what is important in life, how families can come together and provide strength when needed.”