10 THINGS EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PROSTATE CANCER
As it’s revealed that Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull both have the disease, CAROLINE JONES finds out more
PROSTATE cancer is the third biggest UK cancer killer, with only those of the lung and bowel more deadly.
Actor Stephen Fry, 60, recently revealed on his website that he is battling the disease, and just last week viewers of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off Stand Up To Cancer special saw TV presenter Bill Turnbull, 62, open up about his own diagnosis.
The disease – which begins in a walnut-sized gland that sits under the bladder and helps make semen – affects one in eight men yet thousands die of embarrassment, not wanting to talk to a doctor about what can be an intimate issue.
Here’s what you need to know...
1 IT’S OVERTAKEN BREAST CANCER AS A KILLER
PROSTATE cancer now claims 11,800 lives a year, making it a bigger killer than breast cancer for the first time, figures revealed last month.
2 PUTTING OFF SEEING THE DOCTOR CAN BE FATAL
EARLY diagnosis is critical but figures suggest men visit their doctor with worrying symptoms 75% less than women.
Former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill put his back pain and changes to his “pee pattern” down to old age, and waited four years to see his GP.
Tests revealed incurable prostate cancer which has spread to his bones, giving him 10 to 14 years to live. He now admits his “stupidity” could have cost him his life, saying: “Maybe if I’d got it earlier I’d be in a much better state.”
Alan Doherty, a Birminghambased prostate cancer specialist, said: “The main problem is, by the time the cancer causes any symptoms – as in Bill’s case – it’s usually because it has already spread.”
3 SCREENING COULD BE THE ANSWER WITH no early warning
symptoms, screening is the only way to ensure catching the disease early.
Stephen Fry revealed last month that he found he had it via an unscheduled blood test.
The actor and writer had been for a flu jab and is lucky his doctor took a proactive approach and gave him a thorough MoT. Stephen’s cancer appears not to have spread and he is now urging “men of a certain age” to get their prostate checked.
4 THERE’S NO NATIONWIDE SCREENING PROGRAMME
ALL women over 50 are invited for mammograms every three years, a programme that has led to a fall in breast cancer deaths.
But the only technique at present for screening prostate cancer is a blood test looking for elevated levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen), a protein produced by cancer cells.
While the test can catch some cancers early, as in Stephen’s case, it is also notoriously unreliable, giving false positive and false negative results at times.
A study published recently found that a nationwide screening programme would not be effective.
Researchers at Bristol and Oxford universities found no difference in the death rate among men aged 50 to 69 who were screened with a PSA test versus those who were not.
Experts believe this is because the test picks up the more common slow-growing tumours that would do no harm if left untreated but misses many of the more aggressive cancers that require urgent intervention.
5 MEN OVER 50 HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK FOR A TEST
ALAN says: “At the moment, most men only see their GP by the time the cancer is symptomatic and has spread, by which time it is difficult to cure. Though imperfect, the PSA test is currently the only way to detect who might have the cancer at an earlier, treatable stage, so I’m an advocate for it.”
GPs won’t automatically offer it to men with no symptoms but you have every right to ask.
Current guidelines give those over 50, the highest-risk group, the right to the test, along with advice on the pros and cons of taking it. Men with a higher-thanaverage risk, including a strong family history, can ask for a test from the age of 45.
6 MORE ORGASMS COULD REDUCE YOUR RISK
AS WELL as regular exercise, quitting smoking and having a healthy diet, there’s growing evidence men who ejaculate more often have a lower chance of developing prostate cancer.
Experts are not sure why but some believe it flushes out harmful chemicals that might otherwise build up.
7 YOU MAY NEED TO SEE YOUR GP ABOUT YOUR TOILET HABITS
CHANGES to the way you pee are more likely to be a sign of an enlarged prostate, a very common, non-cancerous problem.
But it’s still vital to see your GP if you have any difficulty urinating, whether it’s weaker flow, pain, leaking or going more often.
Symptoms that require an urgent GP visit include back, hip or pelvis pain, new problems getting or keeping an erection, blood in urine or semen and unexplained weight loss. These can occur when cancer has spread outside the prostate.
8 MOST MEN WILL GET PROSTATE CANCER IF THEY LIVE LONG ENOUGH, BUT IT WON’T KILL THEM
EXPERTS now believe all prostates will become cancerous eventually, so the longer you live, the higher your risk. Research shows about 80% of men who get to age 80 have some cancer cells in their prostate.
This is because the walnut-sized organ changes and grows bigger as you age, making it susceptible to cancerous changes.
However, this scary fact masks what is actually positive news...
A great many of these cancers grow so slowly that even without treatment they will never become life threatening, with most men living with the condition until they eventually die of some other, unrelated cause.
9 IF YOU GET PROSTATE CANCER TODAY, IT’S LESS LIKELY TO KILL YOU THAN 10 YEARS AGO
CANCER Research UK says the number of men getting and dying from it is increasing mostly because of population growth and because we are living longer.
The good news is, overall survival rates have increased by 6% in the past 10 years and tripled in the past 40.
10 TREATMENTS ARE IMPROVING
THE reason survival rates are increasing is down to breakthroughs in detection and treatment, albeit at a slower rate than those that are happening with breast cancer.
If you’ve had a positive PSA test or need to have the organ removed, be sure to ask if the following are available: MRI imaging scans: They’re now being used in some hospitals after a positive PSA test but before biopsy and have been shown to reduce the need for a biopsy by a quarter and double detection rates of aggressive cancers. New nerve-sparing techniques: Surgeons can now use precision cutting to carefully avoid the two bundles of nerves that run alongside the gland and control erections. This reduces the risk of erectile dysfunction and incontinence, which can be why many men say no to surgery.