Did you know that if all men lived long enough, they would eventually die of prostate cancer? As it is 25% of men over 40 are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 11% of men die of the disease. These are sobering statistics and the tragedy is that prostate cancer is recognised as being amongst the slowest growing, therefore the earlier the detection the better the prognosis. If you only go to the doctor when you develop symptoms it may be too late to treat, however if you detect the cancer early enough there are options for a cure and recovery.

I only found out about this last year as I am lucky to live near the ‘Graham Fulford Charitable Trust’ who organise free screenings for men. This involves a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test, which can detect the cancer at an early stage when treatment could be beneficial. I would advise any man over the age of 50 to try and get a PSA test every year.

In Britain we have free national screenings for cervical cancer which is an excellent service for women, but there isn’t an equivalent provision for men. If you live in England there are free PSA tests being held on the following dates and locations;

27th March – Margate
15th April – East Grinstead
16th April – Broadstairs
14th May – Cornwall
11th June – Wirral

You can check for specific locations by contacting:  gfcharitabletrust@tiscali.co.uk

I would be interested to know what your doctor’s response to a request for a PSA blood test would be? Please let me know if this is possible through the UK’s National Health programme. I would also be interested to know whether these PSA tests are being used in other countries? Any comments would be appreciated.

John McNally