Teesside man with prostate cancer 'not surprised' it's now the most common in the UK
More than 64,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022
A man from Teesside, who's had prostate cancer for nine years, says it's not surprising it's now the most common cancer in the UK.
Prostate Cancer UK figures have found that 64,425 men were diagnosed with the disease in 2022, compared with 61,640 with breast cancer, which had previously been the most common cancer.
The charity says the figures are a 24% rise on the previous year (2021) when 51,823 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The disease officially became the most common cancer in England last January, but new figures from Scotland, with data from Wales and Northern Ireland, have enabled a UK-wide figure.
76 year-old Terry Bytheway from Middlesbrough was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017.
He said: "One man every 45 minutes is dying in the UK of prostate cancer. We need men to stop dying through prostate cancer.
"Men are so poor in talking about their own health that they'd rather bury their heads in the sand than actually going to see their GP. Just say 'excuse me, can I have a PSA blood test?' Now I know a lot of GPs are reluctant because of the inaccuracies of the PSA test but you must insist.
"Men you must really now think hard about your health. You could be walking around with prostate cancer and have no idea because there are no symptoms.
"It's just getting men aware and just get them to do something. I feel like going out and getting a few men off the streets and into my support group meetings and say ' look men. Think hard about your health because if you leave it, you'll die of ignorance.
"The generation of men aged 50 and above is an era where you were told to 'man up', you were told to be a man, not to worry about yourself, but to just get on with it and you keep everything inside of you and I think that's carried on.
"It doesn't matter if you feel 100 percent. You might be fittest man in the world, like Sir Chris Hoy was, but it doesn't make any difference. You could still be walking around with prostate cancer, so please gentlemen, get a test now. Book it in today.
"Go and see your GP and do not take no for an answer. You could be that you're perfectly OK because seven out of eight men will be, but one man in that eight will have started on the journey of prostate cancer.
"We know for the first two years of prostate cancer you won't have any symptoms, but you might do. You might have symptoms where you go to the toilet a lot more often, so please gentleman, I implore you to go and get a test done now."
Terry has started a new North East Prostate Cancer Support Group and is urging men to join it if they want to find out more or have someone to talk to.
Prostate Cancer UK said a 42% rise in diagnoses in the past decade is thanks to increased awareness of the disease by charities, the NHS and high-profile figures.
Calls for a wider screening programme
The charity is calling on the NHS to adopt wider screening using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.
It is also running a major clinical trial, expected to report within two years, into whether combining PSA with other tests, such as rapid MRI scans, could lead to a recommendation for population-wide screening for all men.
In December, a draft recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), which advises the Government, said prostate cancer screening should not be made routinely available for the vast majority of men in the UK.
It did not recommend population screening using the PSA test, saying this was because it "is likely to cause more harm than good".
The committee instead put forward only a recommendation to screen men with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, which puts them at far higher risk of prostate cancer, every two years, between the ages of 45 and 61.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was surprised by that decision and is reviewing the findings.
Among those speaking out against the UKNSC recommendation were Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, former prime minister Lord David Cameron, broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry and Blackadder actor Sir Tony Robinson, who have all been diagnosed with the disease.
Prostate Cancer Research is in favour of more screening, while Cancer Research UK agrees with the screening committee decision. Prostate Cancer UK said it was disappointed by the decision but determined to change it through more research and evidence.
Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said of the latest data: "We're hugely proud to have played our part in the growing awareness of prostate cancer, which has led to more men than ever being diagnosed and treated.
"But it's unacceptable that the full weight of responsibility still falls on men to understand their risk and talk to their GP about the pros and cons of a PSA test.
"Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, but despite this, men are facing deeply unfair inequities across the country, and their experiences vary hugely based on where they live.
"We urgently need an early detection programme that will address these regional inequities.
"My message to men today is, find 30 seconds to do Prostate Cancer UK's online risk checker. It's free, anonymous and in a few quick questions you will understand your risk and your rights like the four million men who have already taken it. Knowing your risk could save your life."
Sir Chris Hoy said: "Prostate cancer is curable if found early. That's why it's vital we get the message out to men to think about their risk and to talk to their GP about a simple blood test to check.
"That way we'll get more men with prostate cancer diagnosed earlier, and we'll save thousands more lives.
"What we need now is action to change the system, to enable more men to be diagnosed earlier and stop them getting the news I got.
"We need GPs to be able to proactively speak to men at highest risk, for example men with a family history like me, or black men, and discuss the PSA blood test to check for signs of cancer at an earlier stage.
"It shouldn't be only men's responsibility to make these potentially lifesaving conversations happen."
Men living in areas of higher deprivation are 29% more likely to be diagnosed with disease that has already spread, than men living in more affluent areas, analysis by Prostate Cancer UK shows.
And although more men are being diagnosed in Scotland, these men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at a later stage (31%) than those in England (21%).
The charity said GPs are currently prevented by "outdated" NHS guidelines from proactively speaking to men who have the highest risk of getting prostate cancer about their risk and offering a PSA.
Some experts say the PSA test is not reliable because men with a high PSA level may not have cancer and some men with cancer have a normal PSA result.
A positive test result may lead to unnecessary treatment for slow-growing or harmless tumours, leaving men at risk of serious side-effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
But others say current evidence supports much wider testing.