The Anna Bay man, 84, said if it wasn't for his GP encouraging him to have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which detected his prostate cancer 17 years ago, he would more than likely be "long gone".

"All I can say is that it worked for me, and there is a good chance I would be dead without it," he said. "I have had probably 12 years of good life which may have been denied to me if I had not taken those early PSA tests."

Mr Wilson said he was alarmed to hear stories of people questioning the test's effectiveness, and whether it was doing more harm than good by putting men at risk of over-treatment.

"People may have high PSA levels and get some of the follow up tests - which can be uncomfortable - and then they get perturbed if it turns out they don't have cancer," Mr Wilson said. "So some of them are saying to get rid of the test altogether.

"While it's not perfect, it's one system that has been shown very clearly - and with the finger test added - to save some men's lives.

"The earliest possible detection is the best way to stop it killing you. You are vulnerable - why risk it when testing is so easy?"

Mr Wilson was at the Royal Easter Show in 2002 when a free medical check up revealed he had high blood pressure. He was encouraged to see his doctor as soon as possible, and when he did, his GP - Dr Tony Plummer - recommended he also have a PSA test. His PSA levels were high. A biopsy and scans revealed he had prostate cancer, which was monitored for two years until it became more aggressive.

"I got involved in the RADAR prostate cancer trial, which reduced and eliminated the cancer," he said. "I went nine more years without it being detectable. But I kept getting PSA tests, and suddenly, my PSA levels showed a big increase again."

The cancer had come back in Mr Wilson's lymph nodes.

"The PSA is a pretty valid way of finding out how you're going. It saved my life."

Associate Professor David Smith, the head of the prostate cancer team for Cancer Council NSW, said the PSA test had attracted "various controversies" over time. He encouraged men to make "informed" decisions.

"We recognise that the PSA test is the best test for prostate cancer, although it is flawed," he said. "It can save men's lives. The controversy is about those men who have a test and are found to have a very low grade prostate cancer that can then get acted on and treated. There have been some issues around over-treatment in the past, which largely now, the urological profession is across and far more appropriate treatment is given."