After 73-year-old surfer, Eric Davies, had surgery to remove his prostate gland in 2023, recovering from cancer and getting back on his beloved board were both top of his to-do-list.
A surfer for more than 50 years, Eric from Braunton was determined to ‘keep on keeping on’ and his journey to recovery – and back into the ocean – has been helped along with regular yoga sessions at the Fern Centre.
Eric says he can’t imagine a life without surfing and that the sessions at the cancer wellbeing centre at North Devon District Hospital have helped him to regain the physical flexibility and mental agility he needs to ride the waves.
This is Eric’s story…
“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023 after my local doctor set up PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) tests, which over a period of time showed the presence of cancer that was slowly increasing. I was referred to the Urology Department at North Devon District Hospital and set on a course of scans and biopsies. The former was easy to deal with, although the biopsies were challenging but doable.
“The NHS staff were brilliant and helpful every step of the way and I travelled to several hospitals where they had capacity to do whichever test. These included my local hospital in Barnstaple, as well as Exeter, Tiverton and Ottery St Mary. I felt like a hospital tourist but I didn’t mind because if they could fit me in, I was there!
“After more scans and biopsies, I had a nuclear bone scan to check if my cancer had escaped. Luckily it hadn’t. The big choice was then to undergo radiotherapy or similar, or an operation to remove my prostate gland. A couple of my surfing mates had also been diagnosed with prostate cancer and opted to have theirs removed and they were getting on with their lives albeit as a new version of themselves and seemed to be enjoying life.
“So, I decided to opt for the operation and a few anxious months passed waiting for the date, always aware, and hoping that my cancer had not spread to other parts of my body (no point in having an op to remove the prostate gland if another part of the body had been infected).
“Operation day came and went with no hitches and again excellent treatment and care from NHS staff. Although performed by a very skilled surgeon, he actually controlled a robot to make the various incisions and I think I had about seven holes in my stomach area, all neatly stitched up and now all but disappeared.
“The two-month initial recovery isn’t a cruise but there is help from the nurse managing your recovery and then the Fern Centre was introduced into the conversation.
It’s a place where you and fellow cancer patients can go to meet, socialise, have a coffee or tea and check out classes including very accessible yoga, massage and focus groups, all in a super friendly atmosphere.
– Eric
“My recovery progress went step-by-step with small percentage improvements. The first challenge is to regain control of your bladder and mastering your pee bag strapped to your leg; you feel vulnerable but just have to go for it if you want to venture out. It’s all about planning and anticipating being in the right place at the right time to empty it. It felt like emptying a wine box with that familiar tap to drain.
“After a week, the catheter is removed and your next step is no bag and to control when you pee. There’s help all the way with a nurse managing your progress. The key to gaining control is by doing pelvic floor muscle exercises. Apparently, it’s second nature to women as they need to control pee with less help from Mother Nature as they also use this exercise after childbirth. I don’t want to go on about pelvic floor muscle exercises but it’s now your single most important challenge to regain full control of your bladder. So, the trick is to learn where these muscles are and isolate them and send tensioning messages to just these muscles, clench your butt cheeks and the muscles below your stomach (pelvic floor I think), all without tensing heaps of other muscles and keep breathing. Practise, practise, practise…. next you’ll become a Tena man! Yes, a really cool conversation starter with your mates, but actually Tena life is OK.
“Slowly but surely, you’ll decrease the size of your pads and eventually go no-pad – that’s a special day! Sometimes you’ll get caught out with a leak, usually a mini leak. I still wear a small pad for yoga or where instant loo access is difficult – journeys, crowded places, public transport, etc. Not mine but a mate’s tip was to always wear black trousers, as the leaks don’t show!
“OK so now I am out and about, living my new life and hospital contact is now minimal with just three-monthly blood tests (PSA) which one hopes and should be showing minimal or zero presence of cancer which is where I am now. After two years in the clear I believe tests will be six-monthly.
“I mentioned the Fern Centre earlier and initially I thought like a lot of blokes, I won’t need to go there, but it was the best post-cancer operation thing I did.
The yoga classes at the Fern Centre have helped me immensely both physically and mentally to get back to surfing again.
– Eric
“And I have met a whole array of folk who each had a different cancer experience, many of whom were still under treatment and observation.
“So, my advice is to fill any gaps in your life between hospital and your recovery by getting involved with the ever-welcoming Fern Centre.”
Keep on Keeping on
Eric talks about his recovery from cancer and his passion for surfing in a short film called ‘Keep on Keeping on’. Filmed in North Devon by Bristol-based filmmaker Tom Bowman, the film won ‘Shortie of the Year’ at the London Surf Film Festival in November 2024.
