A GRANDAD who suffered from unwanted weight gain when he was diagnosed with cancer has been given a “new lease of life”.

In 2014, Barry Eastman was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and was given three to five years to live.

His first session of chemotherapy caused him to develop sepsis and he was offered a clinical trial of hormone treatment and also radiotherapy, but this also caused unwanted side effects which included hot flushes and weight gain.

Barry is still on hormone treatments but he found out in March this year he would need two partial knee replacements and was put on the waiting list.

Struggling to get out of the bath, cut his toenails and walk his dog as he weighed over 17 stone, Barry was advised to lose weight for the ops.

“I had a massive beer belly and it looked unsightly and my suits didn’t fit,” Barry said.

Barry and wife Pat joined Slimming World in Picket Twenty and he has now lost more than two stone, leading to significant life changes.

“I used to suffer with gout, arthritis of the knee and back which caused me chronic pain but now I feel like a different person.”

Barry, from Barton Stacey, has also been told that he will no longer need to have surgery on his knees.

“I thought it was something I would always have to live with but now I’ve got a new lease of life.”

But Barry said getting to this stage and sorting out his aches and pains has not been an easy process.

“The first couple of stones came off rather quickly then its hard work and you are fighting for each pound that you are trying to lose.”

The weight loss has allowed him to exercise easily and he is overjoyed to be able to enjoy day-to-day life with little pain.

He is now looking forward to a family holiday in Scotland.

And the shredding has come without having to eat salads for every meal.

“With Slimming World we enjoy fabulous meals such as lamb chops, steak and potatoes, curries, cheese and biscuits, apple crumbles, gin and tonic and the occasional cider.”

He is now encouraging others with health issues to think about losing weight.

Barry said: “Join a slimming group and save yourself a lot of pain and inconvenience and save the NHS a lot of money and time in unnecessary treatments and operations.”