Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed he was treated for prostate cancer earlier this year.
The 59-year-old said the only reason he even went for testing was because his wife insisted.
The couple had been listening to a BBC radio interview featuring entrepreneur Nick Jones, who had been diagnosed and was urging men to get tested.
Cameron had a PSA test, followed by an MRI scan and a biopsy. Doctors then treated him using focal therapy, which targets only the cancerous area and destroys tumour cells using techniques like ultrasound waves.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Around 55,000 men are diagnosed every year.
Cameron Says Men Don’t Like Talking About Health
The PSA test looks for proteins linked to prostate cancer, and Cameron’s score came back high.
He told the Times that he wants to use his platform to support Prostate Cancer Research, which is calling for screening to be offered to higher-risk men. That includes older men and black men.
“I don’t particularly like discussing my personal intimate health issues, but I feel I ought to,” he said.
“Let’s be honest. Men are not very good at talking about their health. We tend to put things off.”
But he admitted, “I sort of thought, well, this has happened to you, and you should lend your voice to it.”
There is currently no national prostate cancer screening program, mainly because PSA tests aren’t always accurate. They can pick up cancers that may never cause harm, and they can also miss aggressive ones.
Still, men over 50 can request a PSA test from their doctor.
A Crucial Week for Screening Decisions
The UK National Screening Committee is set to announce whether there’s enough evidence to introduce national prostate cancer screening.
Nick Jones, whose radio interview prompted Cameron to get tested, said it is a “crucial week”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that screening should start with black men and those with a family history, before expanding to everyone.
He added, “I felt I was very lucky and I felt everyone should get that luck.”
A major screening trial started last week to find the best way to detect prostate cancer using newer methods. It’s funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Chiara De Biase from Prostate Cancer UK praised Cameron for raising “vital awareness”.
“We lose 12,000 dads, brothers, sons and friends to this disease every year,” she said. “Prostate cancer is the last major cancer without a screening programme, and we need change now.”
One in Eight Men Affected, and Awareness Is Growing
Around one in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to Prostate Cancer UK.
It has now overtaken breast cancer as the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in the UK.
Last year, former Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, aged 49, revealed he has advanced prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
He called it “the biggest shock of my life”.
“My perspective on life has changed massively. I am more thankful, I’m more grateful for each day,” he said.
Cameron says his own experience made him realise how important early detection is.
“I had a scan. It helped me discover something that was wrong. It gave me the chance to deal with it,” he said.
Early tests caught it. Treatment worked. Now he’s urging other men not to wait.
