CANCER survivor Andrew Dickson is urging men to be more aware of their own bodies.

Had it not been for a random blood test, the 58-year-old businessman would have had no idea he was suffering from prostate cancer.

Now, in Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, Mr Dickson has been given the all-clear from his consultant.

Mr Dickson said: "The number of people I have talked to about this, who have then gone and had the test and have needed further investigation is frightening, but if it can be caught early enough and people can be given the all clear, like I have been, then that is absolutely fantastic."

Mr Dickson is the former owner of St Andrews Travel and now runs SAT Business Travel Management and flight specialists Flightdeck.

It was only when he received a letter from his family doctor offering him a free blood test that could detect prostate cancer almost two years ago that he decided he might as well give it a go and opted to have the test.

He had suffered no symptoms and had no reason to think he results would come back anything but healthy.

But that test could have easily saved his life as it revealed he had a raised level of PSA, a protein made by the prostate that leaks into the bloodstream and one of the early indicators of cancer. A second PSA check resulted in a biopsy and he was officially diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Dickson said: "I was shocked to say the least. I was healthy and I was devastated when I was told I had prostate cancer."

Before major surgery last September and the radiotherapy that followed, Mr Dickson took a holiday to the Canary Islands with Pat, his wife of 33 years.

The couple had only just sold their successful travel agency and were planning on taking it easier in the future. But last week Mr Dickson was finally given the all clear after his second PSA test following his cancer treatment was normal.

He now wants to use his experience to encourage other men, especially those over 50, to make sure they ask their GP for the potentially lifesaving PSA blood test.

l About 30,000 are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK alone and as many as 10,000 die as a result, making it the most common cancer in men. It mainly affects men over the age of 50, and symptoms include a frequent need to urinate, a delay before urinating, pain when urinating, lower back pain and blood in the urine.