A campaign has been launched to find 14,000 men with missed prostate cancer diagnoses due to the pandemic, urging them to visit their GP and get checked quickly.
Prostate Cancer UK and NHS England have launched a campaign to find the 14,000 undiagnosed men who need treatment.
The campaign wants men to use Prostate Cancer UK’s 30-second online risk checker to see if they are at risk of having it.
Acting chief executive at Prostate Cancer UK in south west London, Nicola Tallett, said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
“The pandemic has meant thousands of men have not come forward for diagnosis and could be missing out on life-saving treatment.
“Men have been telling us they haven’t wanted to ‘bother’ their GP during the pandemic, particularly if they don’t have any symptoms, which is the case for most men with early prostate cancer.
“Which means, men at higher risk of the disease are not having those vital conversations about their risk that can lead to a diagnosis.”
Latest figures by NHS England shows urological cancer referrals in London have dropped by 14% since the start of the pandemic.
It is recorded that one in eight men will get cancer in their lifetime.
With men over 50, Black men or those whose father or brother had the disease are at even greater risk.
Prostate cancer is very treatable if caught early, so men are being urged to check their risk without delay so it can be found before the cancer spreads.
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancel in the NHS, added: “The simple check could be lifesaving.”
Celebrities have got involved in the past to promote the early checks and raise awareness of the consequences of testicular cancer.
Love Island star, Chris Hughes appeared on This Morning in 2018 to raise awareness of testicular cancer.
He was praised by fans for bravely showing how a testicular examination takes place as he experienced a health scare himself.
Because of Chris’ bravery at performing this test on national day-time television, it inspired his older brother, Ben Hughes, to get checked.
Later that year he found a lump.
Three years on, his brother Ben shared a post on Instagram.
The comment said: “3 years ago today… The day my life turned upside down… The day I got diagnosed with testicular cancer, one of the scariest days of my life.
“3 years on I’m still counting my lucky stars and thanking my little brother for the courage to show the world how to check.”
Now cancer free, the pair continue to raise awareness to men and show the importance of getting checked with a GP.
More than 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year – working out as one man every 45 minutes.
Prostate cancer often has no symptoms so men shouldn’t wait to see changes before they act.
Even though you may not be experiencing symptoms, you should get checked with your local GP immediately.
