Get in line to beat prostate cancer
WOMEN have not been afraid to rattle a few cages to promote better care for breast cancer and cervical cancer. It’s heartening that men are beginning to do the same when it comes to male cancers and are becoming responsible for their own health. Last Saturday, Reading Lions Club arranged free PSA tests for prostate cancer at the local Circle Hospital. Similar events around the country have seen 200 men turning up to be tested. We were astonished when 2,500 men attended. The event did not start until 8.30am, but there were men waiting from 7am. At one stage, the queue stretched 50 metres down the road outside the hospital. After five hours of testing, we ran out of kits and, sadly, had to turn away some of the men. I know just how important it is to be tested. I underwent major prostate surgery ten years ago and I am proud to be a survivor. For 30 years I was a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and worked with the urology department, so I have seen the problem of prostate cancer from both sides of the fence. Due to my own experience and my work with the charities Prostate Cancer UK and Tackle Prostate Cancer, I am of the firm belief that there needs to be a national screening programme. Sisters have been doing it for themselves — perhaps brothers are beginning to do the same.
Dr STEPHEN ALLEN, Reading, Berks.