Bill Turnbull urges men to ‘press your GP’ on prostate cancer
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Research conducted by the German Cancer Research Centre observed male risk of severe stage three or four prostate cancer. The study tracked men born in Sweden after 1931 and their close relatives.
Around one in eight of the almost 89,000 men who contracted serious or fatal prostate cancer had at least one first-degree relative – a father, brother or son – who had previously had the disease.
Professor Mahdi Fallah, lead author of the research from the University of Bergen in Norway, highlighted the importance of looking at family, as it “could help to inform future screening guidelines”.
In the UK, there is no screening for prostate cancer.
However, men aged 50 and over can undertake a blood study on the NHS following a consultation with a doctor.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Around 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in England alone.
It is a form of cancer that begins in the gland cells of the prostate.
Symptoms can take years to be noticed and usually appear when the prostate is large enough to affect the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis (urethra), according to the NHS.
According to Cancer Research UK, signs of prostate cancer include, among other symptoms, passing urine more often and blood or semen in the urine.
The charity said: “These are much more likely to be caused by your prostate gland becoming enlarged as you get older.”
An enlarged prostate is usually caused by a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
BPH is when the prostate gland grows and presses on the urethra.
According to the NHS, many men worry that having an enlarged prostate means they have more chances of contracting prostate cancer – this is not the case.
The health entity said: ”The risk of prostate cancer is no greater for men with an enlarged prostate than it is for men without an enlarged prostate.”
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