Tens of thousands of men at risk of prostate cancer
Prostate Cancer UK has launched its "What on Earth is a prostate" awareness campaign
Last updated 6th Jun 2023
Prostate Cancer UK is warning that tens of thousands of men could be putting their lives at risk because of misconceptions about prostate cancer’s symptoms and testing.
More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed in their lifetime. The risk of the disease is higher for men over the age of 50, Black men over 45, or those who have a family history of the disease.
New research by the charity has found more than half (56%) of men in the Midlands do not know where their prostate is and almost three quarters (74%) aren’t sure what it does.
More than half of men in the Midlands (55%) say they are concerned about having a rectal exam, yet almost all of prostate cancer testing is now done by a blood test.
The charity have joined up with a number of men across the Midlands to share their experience of prostate cancer and encourage other men to improve their knowledge of the signs to look out for.
Around 12,000 men die every year from prostate cancer
About 12,000 men die every year from the disease in the UK, but it is treatable if caught early.
Alex Don from Telford was diagnosed with the condition in 2021. He had no obvious symptoms but he went to have a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test after his wife encouraged him to.
The results of Alex's PSA test prompted further investigation and he discovered he had prostate cancer in November 2021 at 55. Since then, he's had his prostate removed and is cancer free.
He is now working with the charity to urge other men to go and get tested: "I had no symptoms, there was nothing wrong with me. Nothing that was going on suggested I had cancer.
"The important thing is that you go and find out, that's what men need to be aware of that it might be hiding away in there and you won't know until it's perhaps too late.
"I don't know how you convince people that it's better to be cancer free than to have cancer. It seems like a no brainer to me that you go and get checked, otherwise you may be living with something that will shorten your life considerably."
Men can find out if they are at higher risk of prostate cancer – and what they can do about it – by using Prostate Cancer UK’s 30-second online risk checker here.