DON'T be shy and get yourself tested, is the message of a prostate cancer survivor.

A simple blood test helped John Dann discover he had the disease - even though his doctor at the time refused to offer one.

Now the tests are available free to anyone who asks, Mr Dann hopes more men will take advantage of getting themselves checked out.

"I am very keen - and have been ever since - that people should go and get themselves tested. I nag on about it to everyone I know," said the 72-year-old of Grange Hill, Coggeshall.

"They always say men aren't interested in their health and don't want to talk about it.

"But I think it's true to a certain extent that it's generally the woman in the family who takes charge of the health of the family and tells her husband he's not well, go and do something about it."

He asked for the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test during a routine medical check-up eight years ago after hearing about their use in America.

At the time, they were not used widely in Britain.

"The doctor said: We don't do those, we don't recommend them.

"I said: I would like one, can I have one? I had to pay etc - in those days you did. The fact it's now availble to everybody is an enormous advantage," he said.

Mr Dann paid around £200 for the test, which diagnosed with cancer. He chose to have the prostate gland removed and has been clear of cancer ever since.

If not for the test, the retired headmaster would not have known he was displaying the symptoms of prostate cancer.

It was only after his treatment that he realised aches and pains he had suffered beforehand had disappeared.

The grandfather raises awareness of the illness through his involvement in the North East Essex Urology Cancer Support Group.

The group now has over 200 members, who meet monthly on the first Wednesday of the month, apart from January and August.

It covers a range of cancers, including bowel, testicular, liver and prostate, and holds talks on cancer treatment and how lifestyle and diet can help.

Developments in the treatment of prostate cancer are currently underway at The Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust - which supports the cancer group.

Dr Bruce Sizer, a consultant in clinical oncology based at Essex County Hospital, Colchester, is the chief investigator for the UK trial of the drug dasatinib.

Dr Sizer said: "It is too early to say what the outcome will be but the hope is that the use of the drug dasatinib in conjunction with chemotherapy and steroids will slow down the advance of hormone refractory prostate cancer."

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK.

Every year 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK, with one man dying every hour as a result of the disease.