The silent cancer every Aussie man needs to know about – as overall diagnoses surge 150 per cent
A fit and healthy Brisbane father-of-two had no symptoms, no pain, and no warning signs until a routine check-up revealed he had prostate cancer at just 45.
Matt Granfield has urged men not to delay cancer screenings after a New Year health check flagged concerning results last February.
The Aussie dad had been getting tested every year after both his father and his grandfather were diagnosed with the disease.
For the first time, Mr Granfield’s PSA, a protein in the blood linked to prostate cancer, was higher than normal.
A repeat test three months later showed PSA levels had climbed again. Doctors ordered scans and then a biopsy, which confirmed the cancer in May.
‘That was a big “whoa” moment. At 45-years-old, I didn’t expect that cancer (and) hearing that word is so scary,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘I burst into tears, like, “What am I going to do? How can I deal with this?”
‘I started freaking out, going, “Oh my god, I’m going to have erectile dysfunction for the rest of my life. I’m going to have hormone treatment”.
‘It was a really brutal, awful time not knowing what I was facing or whether I would be cured and what my prognosis was.’
Matt Granfield (pictured with his sons Jack, 8, and Will, 10) was diagnosed with prostate cancer after an annual health check-up revealed he had a high prostate specific antigen level
Mr Granfield said it was brutal hearing the news of his diagnosis
Doctors told Mr Granfield he needed to undergo a robotic radical prostatectomy, a minimally invasive procedure, to remove the prostate immediately.
‘I freaked out. My dad got diagnosed when he was around 65. He’s 75 now. He’s still living with cancer because he didn’t get it early enough, so it spread,’ he said.
‘He’s still going through radiation treatment 10 years later. So it has a massive psychological impact.
‘I didn’t think I was going to die or anything that dramatic, but it was an incredibly intense moment – suddenly, at 45, you’re told you’ve got cancer.’
Mr Granfield said he and his ex-wife, the mother of his sons Jack, 8, and Will, 10, told the boys he was having an operation but avoided explaining his diagnosis.
Following surgery in September, Mr Granfield was cleared of cancer in December.
‘It’s been a rough year of leaking and erectile dysfunction and blood tests. I’ve got lots of scars from the surgery,’ he said.
‘But because I’m young and fit and caught it early, everything’s working again… There is a 99 per cent chance that it will never come back.
After his surgery, Mr Granfield (pictured) has ‘lots of scars’ but is cleared of cancer
The father-of-two is now urging Australians to regularly get checked for cancer
‘The payoff for me has been just such a bright future where I’m functioning well and I’m all free of nappies, and I’ve got a great sex life, and everything’s going well.’
Erectile dysfunction is a very common side effect of prostate cancer treatment (surgery, radiation, hormone therapy) because these therapies damage the nearby nerves and blood vessels controlling erections, or lower hormones needed for sexual function, often leading to temporary or permanent ED.
Mr Granfield has urged Australians to get checked regularly for cancer.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has estimated there were 29,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses in 2025.
The disease was projected to account for 30 per cent of all new cancers among men nationwide.
Cancer diagnoses among younger men are on the rise, the institute found.
The rate for men aged between 40 and 49 rose from 4.9 cases per 100,000 in 2000 to 12.5 per 100,000 in 2025 – an increase of over 150 per cent.
As a result, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia has called for men to speak more openly about prostate cancer.
‘Despite improvements in treatment the number of deaths from prostate cancer is still expected to rise as the population ages and people delay their PSA screening,’ PCFA Chief Executive Anne Savage said.
‘Our latest data paints a deeply concerning picture – prostate cancer is again on the rise, and it is increasingly striking men at younger ages.
‘This is a wake-up call we cannot afford to ignore and that’s why we’re calling on men from 40 onwards to have a conversation with their GP about a baseline PSA blood test, especially for those with a family history or other known risk factors.
‘Early detection saves lives, and taking this simple step now could make all the difference.’
