Limiting use of prostate cancer screening in men is a false move - Steve Cardownie
The UK National Steering Committee, which advises the Government, has decided that there is no need for a screening programme for prostate cancer across the UK.
It is recommending that only men with particular genetic mutations that lead to more aggressive cancers should be eligible.
As someone who was diagnosed with prostate cancer seven years ago, I am baffled by the committee’s stance. I had no symptoms, and I had to stand my ground and insist on getting a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test which identified that my PSA level was high, which led to a biopsy and then treatment.
The charity, Prostate Cancer Research, has stated that it’s a disappointment that some high-risk groups have lost out.
It stated that “This is a huge opportunity missed. We are profoundly concerned that other high-risk groups have been left behind. Men, their families, and our communities deserve so much better than this.”
The committee’s published draft recommendations have suggested that only those men who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variant should be offered screening.
Prostate Cancer UK contends that screening must be guided by “robust evidence,” that the harm caused by unnecessary tests and diagnostic procedures have fallen and the analysis underpinning the committees’ decision does not reflect modern practice.
The charity stated that “We cannot wait another decade while thousands more men are diagnosed too late.”
Sir Chris Hoy, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer, said of the decision “I am extremely disappointed and saddened by the recommendation announced by the National Screening Committee to rule against national screening for men at high-risk of prostate cancer.”
It is difficult to disagree with him. I have been banging on for ages about the need for men to get their prostate checked.
Men over fifty can get a blood test to determine their PSA level if they insist on one. I only got mine seen to after I was recommended to get a test from a friend whose father died of prostate cancer and who was also diagnosed with the disease.
Sir Chris reminded us that “More than 12,000 men are dying of prostate cancer every year; it is now the UK’s most common cancer in men, with black men at double the risk along with men with a family history, like myself.”
I have told everybody who is prepared to listen just how important getting a prostate check is. Not for me the stories about a potential misdiagnosis or unnecessary treatment - the stakes are too high to worry about that as far as I am concerned.
Had I not taken my friend’s advice I would probably not be sitting here writing a column and warning others about the inherent dangers of going unchecked.
Unfortunately, it was too late for Sir Chris but it is imperative that men don’t allow themselves to become complacent and take the committee’s recommendation as an indication that prostate cancer deaths are not a huge concern-they are!
The advisory committee has failed in its duty.