A seemingly fit and healthy father-of-two from Brisbane has shared his shock after a routine health check revealed he had prostate cancer at the age of just 45, despite having no symptoms or pain.
The Routine Check That Changed Everything
Matt Granfield had been getting annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for years due to a family history of the disease. Both his father and grandfather had been diagnosed. In February last year, his results showed a higher-than-normal PSA level for the first time.
A follow-up test three months later confirmed his levels were climbing again. This prompted doctors to order scans and a biopsy, which delivered the devastating confirmation in May: he had prostate cancer.
"That was a big 'whoa' moment. At 45-years-old, I didn't expect that cancer, and hearing that word is so scary," Mr Granfield told the Daily Mail. "I burst into tears... It was a really brutal, awful time not knowing what I was facing."
Facing Surgery and the Fear of Side Effects
Doctors advised that Mr Granfield needed a robotic radical prostatectomy—a minimally invasive procedure to remove the prostate—immediately. The news was particularly chilling given his father's experience.
"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 explained. "He's still going through radiation treatment 10 years later."
Mr Granfield's immediate fears turned to the potential side effects of treatment, which are common. "I started freaking out, going, 'Oh my god, I'm going to have erectile dysfunction for the rest of my life.'"
He and his ex-wife, mother to his sons Jack, 8, and Will, 10, told the boys he needed an operation but avoided the word 'cancer'. After undergoing surgery in September, he received the all-clear in December.
A Wake-Up Call for Men Nationwide
Mr Granfield's experience comes amid alarming data on prostate cancer rates. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated 29,000 new diagnoses in 2025, accounting for 30% of all new cancers in men.
Critically, diagnoses among younger men are rising sharply. For men aged 40 to 49, the rate jumped from 4.9 cases per 100,000 in 2000 to 12.5 per 100,000 in 2025—an increase of over 150%.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) has issued a stark warning. "Our latest data paints a deeply concerning picture—prostate cancer is again on the rise, and it is increasingly striking men at younger ages," said PCFA Chief Executive Anne Savage.
She emphasised that early detection saves lives and urged men from 40 onwards, especially those with a family history, to speak to their GP about a baseline PSA test.
Now cancer-free, Mr Granfield reflects on a "rough year" of recovery but looks to a bright future. "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," he said. His powerful message to others is simple: do not delay getting checked.
