IT should have been the happiest time of Martin Lowe’s life.

He had married the love of his life just months earlier and the couple were trying to complete their family by having a baby.

But then his world was shattered when routine tests revealed that he had prostate cancer – aged just 40.

The Kirkheaton man went on to beat the disease and is cancer free a year on from his operation.

He and wife Jessica are now on a mission to raise as much awareness as possible about the potentially lethal disease.

They are staging a massive music-themed fundraiser tomorrow evening at Waterloo Bowling Club and hope the event will be the first of many.

The couple met six years ago through friends and got engaged at Glastonbury music festival.

They married in an intimate ceremony in Gibraltar in July 2009 and soon afterwards started trying for a baby. Jessica, 31, said: “We actually decided a year before to start trying but two months after we got married we went to see our doctor to see about fertility treatment.

“We went through testing and there was nothing untoward but then a blockage was found in Martin’s prostate.

“Doctors weren’t worried at first as this could have been caused by a number of things from inflammation to him having mumps as a child, but then he had more tests and a biopsy showed that he had cancer.

“It was such a shock. It was like I had been given a great gift to be married to Martin and that was being taken away from me.

“I was devastated to think I could lose him because he changed my life. It was also awful to see this strong man who had been in the army reduced to tears.”

It wasn’t until the following March after months of tests that Martin, who works for Virgin Media, was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In April he underwent surgery at Spire Elland Hospital to have his prostate removed.

The cancer was aggressive but could have been fatal if left untreated for much longer.

Jessica said: “In a few months the cancer could have grown beyond the prostate so if he had not been diagnosed when he was I think it would have been a whole different story.

“He had no symptoms so if we hadn’t been trying for a baby we would have never known.”

Martin returned to work soon after his operation and, although he still needs future tests, is now cancer free and the couple are looking forward to planning the rest of their lives together.

As well as having the support of their family and friends throughout their ordeal, they had a lot of help from the Prostate Cancer Charity.

The charity provided them with support and information and the couple are now planning to stage yearly fundraisers to give something back.

Tomorrow’s evening of rock and pop will feature local band Helter Skelter, inventor Wilf Lunn and a raffle and auction which the couple’s loved ones have helped gather.

Martin said he hopes the night of fundraising will highlight the importance of awareness of the cancer.

He said: “I was a bit apprehensive at first but I think it’s important that people know what we’ve gone through.

“When I was told I had prostate cancer I thought this isn’t right as I’d always thought of it as being an old man’s disease. I was surprised when I looked into it to find how many younger people are affected.

“Unlike testicular cancer, this isn’t something that gets much publicity, but hopefully this will make people aware of it and the need to see their doctor if they concerned.

“If found early it’s one of the most treatable cancers and can be detected by a simple blood test.”

All tickets for the event are sold but a few places may be found for those turning up. To make a donation to the charity visit the website www.prostate-cancer.org.uk