Demands for national prostate cancer screening go to Downing Street
A man with prostate cancer says any cancer needs assessing and treating as soon as possible
As a petition is being handed in to Downing Street today, one man with incurable prostate cancer says any cancer needs to be assessed and treated as soon as possible.
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.
74 year-old Terry Bytheway, who is from Middlesbrough, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and it has spread to his bones meaning it is incurable.
He said: "At the moment we have a PSA, which is prostate-specific antigen test, which is a blood test, this isn't 100 percent accurate and this is why a lot of GPs are against it. This is why we've never had a screening programme before. However, we do need to identify these men particularly those who have got symptoms of prostate cancer.
"Anything that can be done by the Government and I understand that there's many other ways that the Government have talked about trying to improve the waiting lists; one being using private medical care and I understand that whilst that would be bring things forward, it would also be a costly thing to do. It's a big issue and it needs some sort of rectification.
"I'd rather have people pestered and then at least once they've been identified, if it's a false one then further testing will surely show that it was false rather than starting the treatment straight away, but I also understand that we do need a better test.
"I'm one of those men who make any excuse not to go to the doctors. 'I feel fine. OK I might have a bit of problem and I'm going to the toilet a lot more regularly during the day', whatever it happens to be, get it tested now because you could have the start of a prostate issue."
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 campaign advocates for the implementation of a national screening programme, leveraging the latest advancements in prostate cancer diagnosis to ensure early detection and better outcomes for all men, regardless of their location. By raising awareness and pushing for policy changes, the campaign aims to eliminate the postcode lottery and provide equal access to life-saving screenings.
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.
The charity say 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.