This afternoon I led the Westminster Hall Debate on 'Support for Prostate Cancer Patients after the COVID-19 Pandemic'.
There are over 47,000 new prostate cancer cases every year, with a man dying every 45 minutes from the condition.
Early diagnosis is key to fighting this disease.
Yet, the pandemic has resulted in fewer men coming forward to their GP to be tested for prostate cancer, with the ‘stay at home’ message deterring older men in particular- who are most at risk from prostate cancer- from coming forward.
Stark figures from Prostate Cancer UK revealed there have been 50,000 fewer referrals for suspected prostate cancer patients than usual trends would predict. The impact of this is incredibly worrying. 14,000 fewer men in the UK started treatment for prostate cancer between April 2020 and December 2021, compared to equivalent months prior to the pandemic.
That’s 14,000 ‘missing men’ that are living without knowledge they have the condition and 14,000 who have not yet started that all important treatment plan. The charity has warned that because of these ‘missing men’, 3,500 men risk being diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer as a result of late diagnosis.
My debate focused on the need for the Government and NHS to invest in the workforce, treatment pathways, diagnostics and imaging, and spreading that all important message of getting yourself checked.
If you would like a further conversation about this debate, please email me at [email protected].
