Thousands of men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year (Picture: Getty)
Men’s lives are being put at risk by ‘outdated’ NHS guidelines on prostate cancer, a charity has said.
There is currently no screening process for prostate cancer, despite the fact that some men carry double the risk, and 100% of patients survive for at least five years if the disease is spotted at stage 1.
Prostate Cancer UK said GPs are told not to discuss prostate cancer with patients unless they have symptoms, even though the disease often shows no signs in the early stages.
Instead, men are required to determine their own risk and raise the possibility of a blood test with their GP, or wait for symptoms to arise.
During Men’s Health Week, the charity is calling on the next UK government to update guidance and allow doctors to proactively speak to men at the highest risk about the issue, including Black men and those with a family history.
Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘We simply can’t continue with a system where men at high risk of prostate cancer can get a test – but only if they know to request one.
At the moment, men often have to request a test themselves (Picture: Getty)
‘This outdated guidance is failing both men and their clinicians, making health inequalities worse and putting lives at risk. It’s about time that changed.
‘Ten thousand men are diagnosed late each year, and we want the next government to fix this failing system and start allowing clinicians to have these lifesaving conversations with men.’
Prostate cancer symptoms
Prostate cancer does not usually cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to put pressure on the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis (urethra).
Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
needing to rush to the toilet
difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
straining or taking a long time while peeing
weak flow
feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
blood in urine or blood in semen
These symptoms do not always mean you have prostate cancer. Many men’s prostates get larger as they get older because of a non-cancerous condition called benign prostate enlargement.
Source: NHS
Currently just over half of men with prostate cancer are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2, with an NHS target of 75% by 2028.
Of those diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, only half survive beyond five years.
The charity’s call comes after it launched a new campaign to help men find prostate cancer earlier, both by using its online checker tool, and asking for a test if they are at risk. A survey for the campaign also revealed that around half of men still believe a prostate cancer test involves a ‘finger up the bum’.
However, testing is now done using a blood test, followed by an MRI.
The NHS has said there is currently no screening programme because ‘it has not been proved that the benefits would outweigh the risks’, including finding cancers that would never cause symptoms or shorten life expectancy.