Oxfordshire man calls for national prostate cancer screening.
The man from Didcot has survived prostate cancer and was one of the 135,000 signatures on a petition.
As a petition is being handed in to Downing Street today, one man from Oxfordshire who has survived prostate cancer says there needs to be national prostate cancer screening.
A petition signed by over 135,000 members of the public has been delivered to No. 10 Downing Street, calling for an end to inequality in prostate cancer screening.
Campaigners say the absence of a national screening programme has created a significant disparity in early detection, leading to a 'postcode lottery' where many men face delayed diagnosis and diminished treatment options depending on where they live.
Tim Scane from Didcot was diagnosed with prostate cancer and said that he caught it “early enough to still be here today”.
He is one of the thousands of people who have signed the petition and hopes that it will encourage more men to get checked.
He said: “We have a need nationally for a screening system because I got caught by luck.
“It should not be down to luck, we should have the systems in place that should be able to pick up those people who are going to get prostate cancer as early as possible in the system, so that their outcomes are as advantageous as possible”.
“There are large numbers of families devastated by this disease every year. Something that is as easy to diagnose as this and something so impactful shouldn’t be left to chance.
“For me, cancer was at the point of bursting out of the prostate, at which point your life expectancy is probably around three to five years. So, I wouldn’t be sitting in this chair today if it hadn’t been caught in time”.
For anyone that is having symptoms of prostate cancer should check on the NHS website, and Tim says not to be worried.
He said: “Don’t be scared, the worst they can do is help you.
“Yes the news might not be what you hope for, but if you get tested early, you can be treated early and the outcome will be way way better”.
Tim said the discussion from MP’s isn’t enough as there should be more awareness of prostate cancer too.
He said: “It not only needs to be debated in Parliament, but we need to have more overt campaigns.
It needs to be front of the mind rather than at the back of the mind, before it’s too late”.
The charity Prostate Cancer Research has launched a new national campaign, Proactive For Your Prostate, to address these inequities in prostate cancer diagnosis across the UK.
The charity says instead of a universal screening programme like those in place for breast and colon cancer, the UK currently offers an ‘informed choice’ programme. This approach requires men aged 50 and over to proactively ask their GP for a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, placing the burden on individual awareness and initiative, with no guarantee that at-risk men will receive the test, potentially leaving many unscreened and undiagnosed.
They believe that as a minimum, a targeted national screening programme for those at higher risk of prostate cancer should be introduced as soon as possible and should be a priority for the Government and NHS.