The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has ordered the NHS in England to review its guidance on testing for prostate cancer. There is no prostate cancer screening programme in the UK; responsibility rests on men over 50 to request a blood test from their GP. But following his terminal cancer diagnosis, the Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy has called for younger men – particularly those with family history of the disease – to be tested. Around 33 men die every day from prostate cancer in the UK, but no reliable test for the disease exists and the UK, Europe and US provide conflicting evidence on clinical screening. One initiative for young men to get checked has been Prostate Cancer UK’s drive to target football fans. The charity enlisted the help of various football organisations including the Premier League and the English Football League to promote their online risk checker tool, which takes 30 seconds to check prostate cancer risk.
