23 March 2011
Top doctors at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are backing Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and are urging men to take their health seriously.
On average, one in nine men will experience prostate cancer during their lifetime. Currently around a quarter of a million men are living with the disease in the UK and by the end of the year another 37,000 will be diagnosed. It is the most common form of cancer in men - and this year alone, 10,000 men will die as a consequence.
Roger Walker is a consultant urologist, and the lead doctor for related cancers, at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. He said: "Men, traditionally, are bad at looking after their own health, and have a greater tendency to ignore symptoms of serious illness. Early diagnosis is crucial in treating prostate cancer, so I would urge men to be less dismissive of their health and book an examination with their GP.
"Unfortunately, on top of men being somewhat blasé about their health, talking about prostate cancer is still taboo. But when talking about a serious health issue it is best to be frank about these things."
"In recent years, prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most common form of cancer in men, due partly to an ageing population. It is most prevalent in men over the age of 60 and is very rare in men under 50. However, if there is a history of prostate cancer in the family, I would advise men to have their first examination in their mid-forties."
Alongside treating patients in its own hospitals, the Trust holds a joint prostate cancer clinic once a week with the Royal Marsden cancer centre in Sutton. Mr Walker said: "Our patients really benefit from the cutting edge treatments available at the Royal Marsden, including radiotherapy, robotic surgery and brachytherapy, which involves the targeted placement of radioactive material at the site of the tumour.
"Patients can also be entered into clinical studies, which everyone benefits from. The more we learn about the causes of prostate cancer – about which more research needs to be done – the greater our abilities become to combat it and reduce the risk factors."
The causes of prostate cancer are currently unknown, but research suggests that obesity, high protein and high fat diets play a contributing role, and that healthy eating could help in prevention. It can be slow to progress and may never require treatment.
However, it is vitally important that any prostate cancers are checked regularly so that growing cancers can be treated quickly. Symptoms can include:
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having to rush to the toilet to pass urine;
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passing urine more often and/or at night;
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discomfort (pain or burning) whilst passing urine;
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a feeling of not having emptied the bladder fully.
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blood in urine or semen.
However, Mr Walker has a word of warning to anyone relying on these signs before seeking an examination: "A big problem with prostate cancer is that, in its early stages at least, it often does not cause any symptoms. This is why it is so important that men take the sensible route and schedule an appointment. It could save your life."
In 2010, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust's urology department treated a total of 349 cancers, of which 157 were cancer of the prostate.
