'It's different for everyone': From fighting fires to fighting cancer

A health screening initiative at work led fireman Robbie Connell to a consultant and a prostate cancer diagnosis. The support he received from the Movember community made all the difference to his recovery,

Robbie Connell, who was treated for prostate cancer photographed at Trim Castle, County Meath. Photo:Barry Cronin

ROBBIE CONNELL describes the day he received news of his prostate cancer as a “blur”.

“It’s a surreal moment,” says the 58-year-old. “You see it in films and you think you’ll deal with it, but I felt like I almost didn’t know my name. My wife, Aisling, was with me, and she took in all the information. My biggest anxiety was telling my mother, because her father had died of cancer at 52, the same age I was when I was diagnosed.”

Connell had no symptoms and was a fit firefighter, so the diagnosis was a shock. That it was diagnosed at all, however, was fortuitous.

“I was with Dublin Fire Brigade and they had brought in a new initiative for prostate-cancer screening,” says the father of six adult children. “I got the test and got a call the next day, saying my PSA [prostate specific antigen] was slightly elevated. It was nothing extraordinary, but they referred it to a consultant. When he did his tests, which included the digital rectal exam, he told me I was in trouble.”

After some more tests, Connell’s prostate cancer was confirmed and, less than two months later, he had his prostate, and what he describes as “other bits”, removed. Inevitably, there were side effects.

“It’s different for everyone, but impotence is one of the side effects, incontinence is another, and that’s because they take away one of your sphincters and some nerves. The positive side of it is that I wouldn’t be sitting here if I hadn’t had it done. And I’d rather be sitting here.”

Approximately 4,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Ireland every year. According to the Marie Keating Foundation, the risk of a man developing prostate cancer before the age of 50 is one in 485, but that increases drastically to one in 13 before the age of 70. Prostate cancer is 90% curable if it is treated in its earliest stages.

For Connell, the operation was a success, and he did not need to undergo radiation and chemotherapy. Though he says that his physical recovery took about three months, his mental recovery was more complicated.

“That’s another side to the story,” he says. “You start to ask yourself questions. Do you still consider yourself a man? What defines you as a person? It’s made me re-evaluate how I interact with other people and how I see myself. I have more positives than negatives. My wife was brilliant. I can’t say enough about her, to be honest. We all think we’re the big man, but we do need support and to be able to talk to others about what we’re going through.”

Throughout his diagnosis, treatment, and readjustment, Connell has had the support of Movember, a foundation that grew out of an annual November event in which men grow moustaches (or ‘mo’) to raise awareness of men’s health issues.

“People from the community, known as Mo Bros and Mo Sisters, reached out, or messaged me directly, offering encouragement, sharing similar stories, or they just listened,” he says.

“The contact and support made me feel that I wasn’t alone, which, looking back, was vital at the time. Movember’s main function is to encourage men to talk about the tough stuff. It’s about normalising conversations around cancer diagnosis and mental health, making it easier for people to offer, and for you to accept, support. Knowing that a massive global community was growing moustaches and fundraising specifically for men’s health, including my diagnosis, gave me this powerful feeling of not being alone.”

Robbie Connell, who was treated for prostate cancer photographed at Trim Castle, County Meath. Photo:Barry Cronin

HAVING started as a small fundraising idea among a group of friends in Melbourne 22 years ago, Movember now exists in more than 20 countries and raises over $100m (€87m) per annum. Though the remit of the charity has expanded to include awareness around testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention, it remains committed to education and awareness around prostate cancer.

The Irish public first heard of Movember when well-known rugby players began growing ‘the mo’ during the November internationals, about 15 years ago. Since then, moustaches have become a regular feature of men’s November faces.

In addition to its annual fundraising, Movember maintains a year-round presence in Ireland, collaborating with several organisations in research and education. In 2022, it helped establish international guidelines for addressing sexual health in prostate cancer care and is now working with partners across Ireland to implement them and to encourage early conversations about treatment side effects and their impact on relationships.

Movember also supports two key initiatives in partnership with University College Dublin: The Praise-U study, which focuses on screening for men at higher risk of prostate cancer; and the Irish Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry (IPCOR), which collects data on prostate cancer treatments and outcomes to help improve future care.

“We do lots of work in supporting men to seek care,” says Sarah Weller, global director of prostate cancer for Movember. “We know that many men aren’t reaching out for help, and we want them to be comfortable doing screening and going to their doctor.

“Our call to action for those who are 50-plus is to talk to their doctor and get guidance. There are normally no symptoms of prostate cancer. Some people get urinary problems, but because symptoms are rare, screening is really important. Our goal at Movember is to help people to really take control of their health and to be proactive about it.”

Weller also wants the healthcare system to be responsive to men’s need for mental-health support.

“We see in some research that where men seek psychological support, nearly half of them don’t come back after an initial visit, because the practitioner didn’t meet their needs or meet them where they were at.”

Robbie Connell wants men to prioritise their health. “If we don’t look after ourselves, it’s our family and friends who suffer. We need to be here.

“And the only people who can make that choice are us. Go and get yourself checked.

“Own your body and own your mental health.”