Tackle Prostate Cancer held a meeting on 2nd December. Brian stood in as the PCSA Kent representative as John was on holiday. Among the topics discussed was the reaction to the Screening Committee’s recommendation that only men aged between 45 and 61 with a known BRCA gene variant should be screened. This, as we know, is based on their assessment that the PSA test is not sufficiently reliable to support wider testing and could cause unnecessary harm in many cases. It could also miss some cancers and so give false reassurance.
The general view was that screening should be extended to all men with a known family history of prostate/breast cancer and to black men as they are known to be at higher risk.
It remains the case that every man over 50 who has thought about the advantages and disadvantages of the PSA test can request one from their GP.
Tackle members have been urged to participate in the public consultation currently taking place. This can be done by supporting the Prostate Cancer Research UK petition.
Tackle emphasises the importance of submitting factual statements, rather than simply making an emotional plea. In Brian’s submission he spoke of having met men in high-risk groups who had been diagnosed too late to benefit from curative treatment and, therefore, emphasised the importance of testing black men and men with a family history of prostate/breast cancer.
Read further Tackle Prostate Cancer news.
