Jeff Titmarsh (Image: SWNS)
A painter and decorator received a prostate cancer diagnosis after his clients, who were doctors, spotted how frequently he was using their toilet. Jeff Titmarsh, 67, was visiting the bathroom 12 times daily, but attributed it to getting older.
However, while he was decorating the home of two retired doctors, they observed his regular trips and urged him to get checked out. The otherwise healthy and active grandfather-of-four was sent for tests, which confirmed he had prostate cancer.
Jeff received chemotherapy and hormone tablets after discovering it was stage four and had metastasised to his bones. Despite being told initially the cancer was incurable, he responded positively to the treatments and is now in remission.
Jeff is now raising funds for charity and highlighting awareness of the symptoms of the disease, which impacts one in eight men during their lifetime.
The divorced father-of-two from Stratford-on-Avon, said: “I had been peeing for England. I was doing some external paintwork for these doctors and I had to come down the scaffolding whenever I needed the loo, so they always saw me. They asked about it and recommended I go to my GP.”
Jeff underwent chemotherapy and hormone pills after learning it was stage four and had spread to his bones (Image: SWNS)
Discussing his diagnosis, he said: “I was in a bit of shock – you don’t really take it all in. I caught it quite late, but not too late thankfully. If the chemo hadn’t worked, it would have been curtains for me.
“Going to the loo more was the only symptom I had, but I ignored it for a year. The doctors I was working for gave me the boot up the backside to get it checked out – my message is get checked out as soon as possible.”
Jeff first noticed around 2023 that his trips to the lavatory had increased dramatically – “easily once an hour” – and on occasions he didn’t make it in time. It wasn’t until he was painting a house in May 2024 that he finally took action.
He said: “The clients asked and I described my symptoms – and they recommended I get checked.”
Following a blood test, he was referred for an MRI scan. He received a call from his doctors while on holiday in Devon with daughter Samantha, 50, and grandson Croyde, 15, informing him the scan had flagged something and that a biopsy would be required.
By August 2024, the biopsy results had confirmed cancer, and further tests revealed it was stage four prostate cancer, which had also spread to part of his bone at the bottom of his rib.
Jeff said: “I was okay telling my family, but then I was in the gym with my friend, and I saw him and just burst into tears. It was two blokes just crying and hugging in the gym. Everyone else must have wondered what was going on.”
He commenced chemotherapy in November 2024, alongside medication to suppress testosterone production, which the oncologist believed was “feeding the cancer”. He was relieved to discover that his cancer responded positively to the treatment, and by December he had gone into remission.
He now requires blood tests every two months and must take daily hormone medication. Having made a significant recovery, Jeff is currently training for Sir Chris Hoy’s Tour de 4 charity cycling event in September, raising funds for Prostate Cancer Research.
He said: “The most common symptom of this is going to the loo more. Aside from that, you would never have known I was ill at all – I didn’t lose any weight.
“Just get that checked out as soon as possible. Forget the British stiff upper lip. And my message is just be positive and have a good circle of family and friends around you.”
Jeff’s fundraiser can be found on GoFundMe.
