Fears men in Northern Lincolnshire finding prostate cancer too late

There are worries men in Northern Lincolnshire are unaware of their prostate cancer until it reaches a late stage.

The Cancer Alliance and Prostate Cancer UK have created a beermat for 30 pubs in Hull and Scunthorpe, where late diagnoses are more common.

The beermat features a QR code that takes customers to Prostate Cancer UK's risk checker, which can check the risk of the disease in 30 seconds.

Early detection is very, very important.

It aims to make everyone more aware of the most common form of cancer for men in the UK and encourage cancer conversations that may make men visit their GP sooner with symptoms

Andrew Markham from Brigg was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021 - he's teamed up with NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB to raise awareness.

"So when I turned 60, my doctor just added a PSA test on some of the blood tests, and then it came back with a higher reading than it should, and I was referred to the hospital," said Andrew.

"Early detection is very, very important."

"I had an appointment at the urology clinic to get some results from the MRI, and when they told me that I got they found a tumor, but they had to do other investigations.

"I was then sent for a biopsy, and then, after that, a further biopsy, when they told me exactly what was what was going on."

"If there's anything that's a change in your in the body, that's different for you, then get something checked out," said Andrew.

"Get to your GP, if you're going to the toilet a lot, if you've got blood in your urine or anything like that, or aches and pains down there, then go to your doctor and get checked out."

Men from all walks of life can be affected – even below 50

"If anybody around the Humber area would like to have any information, there is a support group which is based in Scunthorpe every second Tuesday in the month from 2pm until 4pm in the afternoon at the Old Brumby United Church on Ashby Road."

Mark Rogers, urology consultant at Diana, Princess of Wales hospital in Grimsby, is always keen to spread prostate cancer awareness.

He said: “Last year’s tragic news about Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal prostate cancer diagnosis sadly proved that men from all walks of life can be affected – even below 50, which is when the risk increases.

“It’s important to know what is normal for you and your body, so you can spot signs of prostate cancer as early as possible."

"Some of the main symptoms to be aware of are: needing to pee more frequently (often during the night), needing to rush to the toilet, difficulty in starting to pee (or any hesitancy), straining, weak flow, a feeling your bladder hasn’t emptied, or blood in your urine or semen.”

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