Michelle Terry
CEO, Movember
Global collaboration can accelerate scientific breakthroughs in prostate cancer diagnosis.
If prostate cancer is caught early enough, it can be cured. However, the tests we currently have that help diagnose the disease, such as the PSA blood test, can be unreliable. It means some men’s cancers are missed, while other men are subjected to repeated unnecessary biopsies.
More accurate, less invasive tests are urgently needed so that clinicians can make better-informed decisions about their patient’s treatment.
It’s a hugely complex problem and one that can only be solved by bringing together the scientific community’s brightest minds and enabling them to work together.
Sharing knowledge of what works and what doesn’t not only reduces duplication of effort but allows scientists to build on each other’s learning.
Sharing global research knowledge
In 2015, Movember established a global network of researchers from Canada to Australia to work on the problem. Sharing knowledge of what works and what doesn’t not only reduces duplication of effort but allows scientists to build on each other’s learning.
There are now some promising developments on the horizon. Results from a Canadian study, published earlier this year, built on findings of a European work, which found compelling evidence in favour of using MRI-guided biopsies.
Closer to home, a team from the University of East Anglia have developed a urine test that tells clinicians whether their patient is likely to need active treatment within the next five years. This breakthrough is the result of years of collaborative effort between scientific teams across the globe. That collaboration drives scientific advances much more quickly and leads to better outcomes for men.
Helping men stay healthy and connected
As a charity, we work to raise funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programmes that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives. Committed to disrupting the status quo, millions have joined the movement, helping fund over 1,250 projects around the world.
In addition to tackling key health issues faced by men, Movember is working to encourage men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives.
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health on a global scale, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
The charity’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. To donate or learn more, please visit Movember.com
