View 3 ImagesA PSA blood test is one check a doctor will do if they suspect prostate cancer(Image: Getty)
Speaking on This Morning on ITV, Doctor Amir Khan, said this has “split a lot of people’s opinions”. He explained: “Prostate cancer is a serious condition.
“It affects one in eight men and 12,000 men die from it annually here in the UK.” He warned that the PSA blood test used for screening is not always accurate.
Dr Amir said: “The PSA is a protein is released by the prostate and some of it gets into our bloodstream and with cancer and other prostate conditions, levels can go up.
“So they [the UKNSC] were looking at whether that’s an accurate way to screen men over the age of 50 for prostate cancer. What they concluded was, actually, it’s not accurate enough to offer it out to all men because they may be false positives, false negatives, men who have prostate cancer that isn’t aggressive could get picked up and sent for unnecessary tests.
“And what they decided is that only men with a certain gene called BRCA2, who also have a family history of ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, and breast cancer, should be screened every two years. No one else should be screened for that.”
He added: “Now, they have decided that based on the evidence, obviously campaigners and charities who advocate for screening are upset by it.”
View 3 ImagesProblems urinating is one potential sign of prostate cancer(Image: Getty)
His main message, however, was to get any potential symptoms checked out. This includes problems going to the toilet.
Dr Amir said: “But what I would say is if you’re a man who has symptoms of prostate cancer, so problems going to the toilet, passing water, perhaps just struggling, pushing hard, that kind of thing, don’t wait for any screening test, go and see your GP and ask for the blood test.
“We no longer do the finger up the bum test, that put a lot of men off, we don’t do that anymore. We just do the blood test for this, come and see us.”
The NHS lists potential prostate cancer symptoms as:
- Finding it difficult to start peeing or straining to pee
- Having a weak flow of urine
- “Stop start” peeing
- Needing to pee urgently or often, or both
- Feeling like you still need to pee when you’ve just finished
- Peeing during the night
- Erectile dysfunction (being unable to get or keep an erection)
- Blood in your urine or blood in your semen
- Lower back pain and losing weight without trying to (these may be symptoms of advanced prostate cancer)
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The health body says you should see your GP if you’re over 50 years old, come from a Black ethnic background or have a history of prostate cancer in your family and you’re worried about your risk of prostate cancer, or you’re having trouble peeing or other symptoms of prostate cancer.