A RESILIENT Woodley man who was diagnosed with prostate cancer a month before losing his brother to the condition is back to running half marathons after taking part in an NHS drugs trial.

Peter Glass, 72, urged others to volunteer for research after taking part in a trial of a new prostate cancer drug at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

He completed his eighth half marathon in March.

The father-of-one, diagnosed aged 63 in May 2010, said: "The diagnosis was an awful shock.

"My parents both lived into their 90s, but at 63 I suddenly started thinking that I might only last another three to five years."

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Mr Glass lost his older brother, David, to the condition a month after his own diagnosis.

David, who lived in Australia, was diagnosed in 2003 and died in 2010, aged 65.

Mr Glass said: "I knew that the news was coming.

"I planned to dash out to Australia to see him one last time, but sadly I didn't because my surgeon warned me that it would be dangerous to travel because of my own cancer.

"Because he was far away and I had so many things to think about following my own diagnosis, I was very much numb to the loss of my brother at the time."

After surgery to remove his prostate gland, Mr Glass was treated with hormone injections every 12 weeks to reduce testosterone, which makes prostate cancer cells grow faster.

He was almost clear of his cancer until a blood test revealed it was returning in August 2017.

He then offered the ARAMIS trial at the hospital’s Berkshire Cancer Centre to see if a new drug, darolutamide, is a safe and effective treatment for men with prostate cancer where the disease has returned.

Mr Glass, who was told he received darolutamide after completing the trial last year and is in remission, said: "I felt extremely well soon after taking part in the trial and the side effects were minimal.

"I wasn’t told if I’d get the drug or placebo, but they were allowed to tell me my blood test results, so I was pleased that they were steadily improving.

"It wasn’t a surprise when I got a call to say the study was complete and I had been receiving the drug."

After completing the study, participants were offered the chance to continue taking darolutamide, to see how well the drug works over a six year period.

Mr Glass, who is still taking the drug, cycles, runs and goes for walks with wife Yvonne and daughter Heather.

He also ran the Wokingham Half Marathon in February and Reading Half Marathon in March for the hospital's Royal Berks Charity.

The former civil engineer said: “It’s quite an achievement and very satisfying to be able to run 13 miles at my age.

"As the trial drug has had no side effects, I feel great and I can just get on with my life.

"I have also been able to improve the distance I could cycle and I can now manage 80 miles in a day.

"I’d have no hesitation in recommending research to others, I’ve been looked after well and it has been a very positive experience for me."

Leslie Mokogwu, Research and Development Manager at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have had an outstanding year at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and clinical research is thriving within the trust. "Overall we’ve had a 35.3 percent increase on last year’s figures, which is a huge effort by all our investigators and staff whose support and expertise enables us to perform highly as an organisation.

"We are very delighted that we are able to continually offer opportunities for our patients to participate in world class research.”