House of Commons event on prostate cancer diagnosis

Angela Wong, Chief Medical Officer for North East London Cancer Alliance, attended a key event at the House of Commons to help raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Research’s ‘Proactive for Your Prostate House of Commons event’ took place on Thursday 14 November and saw the launch of their new cost-benefit analysis report on prostate cancer screening.

The report’s findings aim to provide additional evidence and further weight to the Proactive for your Prostate campaign, which calls for a national screening programme for prostate cancer.

The purpose of the House of Commons event was also to bring together the prostate cancer community with Parliamentarians, to raise awareness of the need to take action now to improve prostate cancer screening.

Attendees included Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE, who was the first National Cancer Director at the Department of Health. He led two major reviews for NHS England: A review of adult screening services (published 2019) and a review of diagnostic services (published October 2020). This recommends a major expansion of diagnostic capacity and a new model of service delivery.

He is currently working with NHS England to help implement his report. He is also a trustee of Cancer Research UK. In April 2022 he was appointed as Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, so it was fantastic that he was able to attend.

A host of celebrities also joined to add their support to such an important cause, and these included football legends Gary Lineker and Frank Lampard, along with comedian and actor James Corden.

Angela Wong said: “The involvement of prominent figures from both the medical field and the celebrity world highlights the seriousness with which the community is addressing early diagnosis of prostate cancer. Early detection is critical because, in nearly all cases, treatment is highly successful, and lives can be saved.

"As the North East London Cancer Alliance, we are thrilled about the opportunities ahead to support prostate cancer initiatives across our diverse communities. We are confident that these efforts will have a meaningful and positive impact.”

Prostate Cancer Research will continue to encourage the prostate cancer community to write to their MP to call on them to put prostate cancer screening on the political agenda, with the aim of building a list of Parliamentary advocates who can champion this issue in Parliament.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK, accounting for 26% of male cancers in 2017. It’s most common in black men, followed by white men and men in deprived circumstances. Survival rates for prostate cancer are good – when it’s diagnosed early. If caught at its earliest stage, all men are expected to survive, compared with around 49% of men when diagnosed at the latest stage.

For more information

Watch our podcast on prostate cancer (episode 2): https://bit.ly/4fRDYKh

Watch a video about how early diagnosis of prostate cancer saved a local patient's life: https://lnkd.in/eKpCMqzs

Find out more about the work of Prostate Cancer Research

For helpful advice on prostate cancer, visit Prostate Cancer UK