'Don't ignore symptoms and get tested' urges Urology Consultant during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
A UHDB Urology Consultant is urging men not to ignore signs of prostate cancer and to get checked as soon as possible as a national awareness raising campaign is launched.
Miss Jyoti Shah, Macmillan Consultant Urological Surgeon at Queen’s Hospital Burton, has stressed the importance for men to get their symptoms checked or have a prostate examination / blood test to identify potential prostate cancers. This comes as research from the charity Prostate Cancer UK estimates that around 14,000 men are living with undiagnosed prostate cancer in the UK alone.
Miss Shah says that over the course of the last two years during the pandemic, the Trust has seen a rise in men presenting with late-stage prostate cancer due to not getting themselves checked during Covid-19 and emphasised the importance of doing so:
“Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, and the good news is that if it is caught early, it is entirely treatable. Therefore, I cannot stress enough how important it is to get checked out if you are worried about prostate cancer.
“Getting checked is so quick and easy and is often done by a blood test at your GP surgery which analyses your blood for Prostate-Specific Antigens (PSA) which, if is higher than that is considered a normal level, could indicate prostate cancer.
“The pandemic has certainly impacted how many men are getting routinely tested which has meant more men are presenting with more advanced cancer which is harder to treat and has a worse prognosis.”
Prostate cancer typically affects men over the age of 50 and those with a family history of the condition. Those from with an Afro-Caribbean heritage are also at an elevated risk of developing prostate cancer.
Many men do not realise they have prostate cancer as it often does not display any signs or symptoms. However, changes in the way you pass urine, including difficulty in starting to urinate or having a weak flow when urinating, can be signs of prostate cancer.
A new 30-second online risk checker has been launched to help men identify if they are at a higher risk of the condition. You can access the online risk checker on the Prostate Cancer UK website (opens in new window) >
In a bid to help more men with their prostate health, Miss Shah runs a community prostate screening service with her colleague and Macmillan Urology Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Sister Sarah Minns, and have so far screened more than 2,500 men since the service began in 2016.
The pandemic has put a hold on these clinics, but Miss Shah hopes to get back out into the community and resume the programme in April 2022.
Miss Shah continued: “I am really hopeful to get back out there and offer this service again after a two-year hiatus. We have successfully diagnosed 84 cases of prostate cancer through our community screening clinics to date and would really encourage anyone who is worried about prostate cancer to visit one of our clinics when we’re back up and running in the coming months. The service is also about raising awareness of a common male cancer.”
Anyone who is worried about prostate cancer symptoms should speak to their GP at the earliest possible opportunity.