Simon Cheesman
Head of Medical Affairs, Accord Healthcare
Referrals for prostate cancer fell during the coronavirus pandemic and, in February this year, Prostate Cancer UK estimated there could be 14,000 men living with undiagnosed prostate cancer because of this. Simon Cheesman, Head of Medical Affairs at Accord Healthcare, offers his perspective.
Referrals for prostate cancer fell during the coronavirus pandemic and, in February this year, Prostate Cancer UK estimated there could be 14,000 men living with undiagnosed prostate cancer because of this.
Decrease in referrals
“This was probably related to men being less likely to see their GP because they were worried about leaving the house, exposing themselves to Covid-19 by visiting a healthcare environment, or not wanting to burden an overstretched healthcare system. It’s important that men are now reassured that it is safe to visit their GP if they have signs or symptoms that they are concerned about, particularly if they have other risk factors for prostate cancer” explains Cheesman.
Awareness programmes, such as Movember and activities by Prostate Cancer UK, had seen a pre-pandemic rise in men seeking advice and getting a diagnosis. Prostate cancer had then become the UK’s most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. But there is concern that the pandemic has set this progress back.
It’s important that men are now reassured that it is safe to visit their GP.
Prostate cancer risk factors
Cheesman, who is a former pharmacist and worked in cancer services in the NHS for two decades, says about one in eight men in the UK will develop prostate cancer, with numbers rising — primarily because people are living longer, and rates of screening and diagnosis are gradually increasing.
The risk of prostate cancer increases as men get older, with the most common age for diagnosis between 70 and 74 years old. It is more common in people of Black ethnicity; and there is also a genetic component so, if a man has a first-degree relative — a dad or brother — who has had a prostate cancer diagnosis, that also increases their risk.
Early symptoms can include going to the toilet more often and weak urine flow, with later symptoms including blood in the urine or semen, back pain, weight loss or erectile dysfunction. Although, some men with early prostate cancer may not have any initial symptoms, so awareness of risk factors is also important.
When to seek help
There may be a reluctance in men to seek early help because of worries over a diagnosis, intrusive screening tests or a general taboo over talking about prostate cancer. Simon underlined the critical role of awareness campaigns in addressing this by re-emphasising symptoms to watch for, alerting high-risk groups and making men and their partners aware of when they should go to the GP.
With no national prostate screening programme in the UK, Simon said men should proactively seek help if they notice symptoms, particularly if they fall into a higher-risk group based on age, family history or ethnicity.
Support from partners
“There may be a reluctance with some men to have health checks and a willingness to ignore or put up with bothersome symptoms. A partner who has awareness of the risk factors and what signs and symptoms to look out for may be able to help encourage them to get checked out with their GP,” he says.
“The importance of seeking help is twofold: to pick up anything sinister at an early stage and, conversely, to provide reassurance and advice on management if there is a more benign cause of their symptoms.”
For men diagnosed with prostate cancer, he emphasised the importance of support from a partner when it came to making decisions around treatment and dealing with feelings of anxiety or depression that may come with the diagnosis.
