Prostate cancer is now killing more people than breast cancer

Prostate cancer is now a bigger killer than breast cancer in the UK.

It has become the third most deadly form of the disease, behind lung and bowel cancer.

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland beneath the urinary bladder in men.

And while women and some men are becoming more aware of the need to regularly check their breasts for changes, it is not always easy for men to spot signs of prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer UK’s chief Angela Culhane said: “A man dies every 45 minutes from prostate cancer in the UK.

“We now know this disease is the third biggest cancer killer. “That’s unacceptable. We need to turn that around.” In Scotland, breast cancer is still the third biggest cancer killer but the gap is narrowing.

Almost 900 Scots men die every year from prostate cancer with about 1000 Scots dying from breast cancer.

More than 3000 men in Scotland are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and almost one third of them die.

Prostate Cancer UK is urging men to go to their GP if they have concerns. Symptoms of an enlarged prostate can include passing urine more often, needing to rush to the toilet – and occasionally leaking urine before you get there, a weak urine flow, difficulty peeing, a feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly, waking several times in the night to go to the toilet, dribbling urine, or blood in the urine or semen.

The charity is staging a series of March for Men walking events – including one in Glasgow on June 17.

For more information, visit prostatecanceruk.org

Success Recent breast cancer awareness campaigns have proved highly successful