On International Men's Day, Alec has welcomed the Department for Health and Social Care's announcement of a new prostate cancer screening trial, led by Prostate Cancer UK, and backed by £42 million of funding.
This new investment builds on the Government's announcement that it will recruit the first ever Men's Health Ambassador and will be creating the first Men's Health Task Force, composed of academics, campaigners and experts.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and currently has no screening programme. The cancer has particularly high mortality rates, often displaying no symptoms until the cancer has grown to a point where it is difficult to treat - taking the lives of 12,000 men each year.
The first-of-its-kind trial will use screening methods such as MRIs to detect the cancer, giving more accurate results than blood tests, and will see hundreds of thousands of men across the UK being invited to attend.
The Government will invest £16 million to support the £26 million provided by the National Institute of Health Research and Prostate Cancer UK, with the trial due to begin in Spring 2024. Men aged between 50 and 75 will be invited for screenings, with those at higher risk due to their age or ethnicity being fast-tracked by their GP surgery.
Commenting, Alec said, "Men's health issues often go undiscussed and unrecognised. Today, on International Men's Day, it's right that the Government has announced a comprehensive strategy to address this growing problem, potentially saving thousands of men's lives every year".
