Mr Tom Leslie, Consultant Urological Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals, and TVCA Urology Lead says:
“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 52,300 new cases every year. The better news is that almost 8 in 10 (77.6%) of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England will survive their disease for ten years or more[1]. But this survival rate depends on the cancer being caught and treated early – early diagnosis saves lives!
“Cancer of the prostate can be treated successfully if diagnosed early enough. So we encourage anyone who is at risk to see their GP. Testing can lead to early diagnosis and treatment. Or it can give reassurance that the person doesn’t have prostate cancer, but may need some other care.
“When diagnosed at its earliest stage, all (100%) people with cancer of the prostate will survive their disease for five years or more, compared with around 1 in 2 (49%) people when the disease is diagnosed at the latest stage.
“We particularly want to encourage Black men aged 45+ to get tested as there is double the chance that they may develop prostate cancer.”
Early diagnosis saves lives
Trans women, non-binary people assigned male at birth, and intersex people with a prostate share the risk of having prostate cancer if they are aged 50+, or are Black and age 45+.
Since the pandemic has eased, referral rates across the country are returning to above pre-COVID-19 levels. In fact, recent NHS estimates show that nearly 2,500 additional men were treated as a result of Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Find the Missing 14,000 Men’ campaign in 2022. But around 11,000 men have still not started treatment for prostate cancer as a result of the pandemic. Get a PSA test to check that you are not one of them.
Everyone with a prostate can check your risk of cancer of the prostate in 30 seconds, using the PCUK on-line risk checker. This will indicate if you should see your GP, who may do a PSA test to detect or rule out prostate cancer.
For further information
[1] Cancer Research UK
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