Four brothers from England were diagnosed with the same type of cancer within just six months of one another.
The Hastings brothers, Steve, Jim, Andy and Tim, told the BBC that the health journey brought them “closer”.
The good news is that they have now each been given the all-clear and they are speaking out about their health journey after being diagnosed with prostate cancer within six months of one another.
Steve Hastings, 71, was diagnosed with the disease when he was 68, and said that his three younger brothers — Jim, Andy and Tim — followed suit when he asked for a prostate-specific antigen, PSA, test two years ago, according to the BBC.
Per the Cleveland Clinic, a PSA test “is a blood test that helps healthcare providers diagnose and manage prostate cancer.”
“High PSA levels don’t mean you have prostate cancer. But you’re at a higher risk. You may need additional testing and observation to make sure,” the site adds.
The youngest of the brothers, Tim, was the first of the four to be diagnosed with the disease back in November 2023, before he was given the “all-clear” last year, according to the BBC.
Steve finished radiotherapy on Christmas Eve in 2024, before being told by medics at the U.K.’s Royal Preston Hospital that “everything was fine” in January 2025, while Andy, 66, was diagnosed in February 2024.
Andy, who had been having tests every year before his diagnosis, chose to have his prostate removed three months after being told he had the disease, and has since been given the all-clear, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, Jim, 68, found out he had the disease in May 2024, before completing his radiotherapy six months later, per the outlet.
The brothers, from Lancashire in the north west of England, have since told the BBC that going through treatment together had “brought us closer together.”
Steve told the outlet of receiving his diagnosis, “Initially you’re worried until you know what the severity is, but we just took everything in our stride,” adding, “We said it will be what it will be and when we get the results we’ll know what we’re faced with.”
“We got the pathway in front of us with the oncologist and urologist, and we just went from there,” he continued, per the BBC. “We’ve just got through it day by day.”
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Steve told the outlet, “Overall I feel like I’m doing well and generally I’m quite happy,” praising the medical teams at the Royal Preston Hospital, which is about 225 miles north of London.
“I feel quite good about it, I’m still here breathing, I’m happy and if anything it’s brought us closer,” he added.
Andy said, “You look at life differently” after receiving a diagnosis like prostate cancer, telling the outlet, “You think ‘let’s go out there and live it’ instead of just plodding along.”
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The siblings are now urging other men to get tested regularly for the disease.
“By and large we’re coming out of it smiling,” Steve said, per the BBC. “We’re facing the future and we’re still thinking it’s positive and that’s what we want to convey to other people.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement, “We’re very pleased to hear that the brothers are doing well following their treatment.
“We’re grateful for their kind words about the care they received at Royal Preston Hospital,” the statement continued. “Our teams work incredibly hard to provide safe, compassionate and personalized care to every patient, and positive outcomes like this mean a great deal to our staff. We wish the brothers the very best in their continued recovery.”
A clinical spokesperson for the trust added in another statement, “Early diagnosis is vital in improving outcomes for prostate cancer.”
“Many men do not experience symptoms in the early stages, so we encourage anyone who has concerns — particularly those with a family history of the disease or who are over 50 — to speak to their GP. A simple conversation can lead to tests that help detect issues sooner, when treatment is often most effective,” the statement concluded.
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