Men need to pay more attention to their health and become better informed about prostate cancer, according to a Manchester expert.
Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer in men which sees 40,000 diagnosed in the UK and 11,000 die from the disease each year.
However, a report issued by Prostate Cancer UK recently revealed that the majority of men are oblivious to the dangers with 92% clueless about the gland’s role and 17% stating they didn’t even know they had a prostate.
The charity has subsequently released a new television advert urging men over 50 to get checked and professor in urological cancer at the University of Manchester Noel Clarke agrees that it is something more men should be thinking about.
“There is a clear lack of understanding that men have about their anatomy and in particular their prostate gland,” said Mr Clarke.
“Given the potential trouble that they can have with it they really should become better informed.
“If we look at the parallel with women and breast cancer they know an awful lot more about the disease. Men by comparison with women don’t visit the doctor as regularly and pay less attention to aspects of their health.
“For men who have a family history of prostate cancer then I think they really do need to have an awareness that their risks are much higher of getting it.
“The clinical presentation of prostate cancer is much more common over the age of 55 and certainly over the age of 60. However even men who are 45 and have had a father who has had it or brothers who have had it should be thinking about going for a check.”
The prostate gland, which is the size of a walnut and sits below the bladder and in front of the rectum, produces the fluid that nourishes sperm.
Symptoms in the early stages of the disease are mainly linked to urination and include needing to urinate more often and feeling that the bladder has not fully emptied.
Professor Clarke is also the lead researcher at the Christie Clinic in Manchester and is optimistic his team’s future studies into the area will help men cope better with the disease.
“I’m hopeful it can help us begin to understand the mechanisms and help us to target better treatments for patients who are presented with this disease and who will need treatment in the future,” added Mr Clarke.
“There are a number of studies which have looked at the development of prostate cancer and there are also studies which have looked at the more advanced treatment of prostate cancer.
“There are a variety of new developments in that area and improvements in outcome but if we’re talking about curing prostate cancer then we really need to pick it up at an early stage and then treat it with surgery, radiotherapy or a combination of the two.”
Image couresy of Prostate Cancer UK, via YouTube, with thanks
