Suffolk cancer support group calls for more regular prostate cancer screenings
71% of men admit feeling embarrassed by the warning signs
A cancer support group in Suffolk is calling for more regular screenings of prostate cancer - to increase chances of catching it earlier.
It's as a study found:
71% of men admit feeling embarrassed by the warning signs, such as difficulty urinating or needing to urinate frequently, especially at night
39% find it challenging to confide in friends, partners (37%), or healthcare professionals (30%)
Fear can also play a significant role in this silence, with 39% of men opting to keep their symptoms hidden to avoid worrying loved ones
29% were concerned about potential treatment side effects like impotence and incontinence
15% cited lack of time as a barrier
Andrew Cox is from the East Suffolk Prostate Cancer Support Group.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer around 14 years ago after having an operation to rebore his prostate, where they also took a biopsy, which revealed he had cancer.
He had radiotherapy to treat it and during his treatment, joined the group for support, eventually becoming a group leader and events organiser.
He told us that when people first join the group there is often a "resistance" to share what they are going through.
He also noted that a contributing factor to this is all the information available on the internet, which he says can "create a lot of confusion".
Andrew tells us he's found that being a part of the group helps people to "untangle" all the information, whilst sharing their experiences, and in turn helping others in all stages of their diagnosis, treatment and recovery: "Once they've accepted there is a problem, and you walk in the room with 40-50 people your brain immediately knows they're all in the same boat as I am - they've all got prostate Cancer."
"It's preventative maintenance that the prostate needs rather than corrective maintenance"
One thing that Andrew wants to see is national prostate cancer screenings becoming a regular thing: "It's preventative maintenance that the prostate needs rather than corrective maintenance.
"There's a lot of work going on currently, to try and persuade the NHS as a whole that there should be a national prostate cancer screening programme, in the way there is for bowel cancer and breast cancer."