 test that can offer an early warning of cancer, although it is not fool-proof. His eldest son tried too. But Martin had no specific symptoms. He was sure it was a waste of time, and said that had he been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he might be left incontinent and impotent after treatment. He was adamant that he would rather die of cancer than suffer this fate. We had met in March 2005, when Martin came to my office to interview me for The Sunday Telegraph. He seemed nervous when I walked into the room, fumbling with his recording machine. We talked about the business I had just launched. Then he paused for a moment, looked anguished, and said: 'I have three children and I cannot imagine how I would cope if one of them died.' He already knew that my daughter, Georgie, had been diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of two and died when she was 12. We talked about it; Martin had tears in his eyes. The following day, our PR guy called me and said that he had an unusual request. Martin was wondering if I would consider going on a date with him. I expressed surprise as I had assumed, wrongly, that he was happily married, and then declined as I was in a relationship. Two months passed and I found myself single again. Having heard the news, the PR called and suggested I go on that date with Martin. I was on the Board of the National Theatre and hosting a fundraising dinner a couple of days later with 20 guests. So, I relented and said that, if he was free, Martin could come and help me; so he did, immediately behaving as though he had been my partner for years. That night, in the auditorium, he){kind=link}
After years of fighting, Martin Baker died of cancer – leaving a heartbroken family and a legacy that all men over 40 need to hear
After four years of treatment, my beloved husband Martin Baker, a journalist and novelist, last week died of prostate cancer aged 64.
We tried everything we could to save his life – or at least prolong it. But the reality is that his cancer was caught too late.
Over the first 12 years of our marriage, I had often tried to persuade Martin to have a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test that can offer an early warning of cancer, although it is not fool-proof. His eldest son tried too.
But Martin had no specific symptoms. He was sure it was a waste of time, and said that had he been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he might be left incontinent and impotent after treatment. He was adamant that he would rather die of cancer than suffer this fate.