His wife Jane died from pancreatic cancer 10 years ago, aged only 55.

Mr Brooker himself has had three rounds fighting cancer, first with bone cancer in the scapula, secondly with cancer in the lower oesophagus and thirdly with lymphoma.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy have got him through all three rounds.

His familiarity with cancer has made him a passionate campaigner for testing for the disease, particularly for prostate cancer.   

Mr Brooker, 73, a member of Warrnambool Daybreak Rotary Club, has enlisted the support of his Rotary club, Warrnambool oncologist Ian Collins and Warrnambool urologist Adee Davidson to encourage men aged 45 and over to get tested for prostate cancer.

Mr Brooker said he hoped to overcome the traditional resistance that many men had to undergoing medical check ups.

Mr Davidson said the younger a man was when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the more his life expectancy would benefit from its treatment.

Mr Davidson said one in five men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer by the age of 85.

Often older men might not need treatment because there might be no long term benefit, he said.

However, early detection of prostate cancer in young men was critical because younger men were more likely to die from the disease if it was left untreated.

Men with a family history of prostate cancer are at significantly increased risk. 

A simple blood test to measure PSA can assess the risk of having prostate cancer.

An elevated PSA reading did not necessarily indicate prostate cancer but might warrant further investigation, Mr Davidson said.