Prostate care in this country is failing - it’s costing 12,000 lives a year unnecessarily
Keir Starmer and his government have expressed a commitment to earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment as part of a 10-year NHS reform plan, including prostate cancer, but the reality behind the headlines is that this simply isn’t working.
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At present 12,000 men in the UK die every year from prostate cancer. What is truly shocking about this is that it’s needless because they’re not being tested.
Prostate cancer, when caught early enough, for example when localised to the prostate and Stages 1 and 2, has excellent outcomes.
In fact nearly 100% five-year survival rates, which means that most men live as long as someone without cancer.This highlights the importance of early detection in order for successful treatment and to save lives.
A PSA test is a blood test that measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by both normal and cancerous prostate cells.
The PSA test helps detect prostate cancer at an early stage. An MRI after a PSA test is necessary to provide a more detailed view of the prostate and surrounding tissues in order to identify any suspicious areas that may indicate the presence of prostate cancer, prostatitis or other benign conditions.
It can also help guide the decision on whether a biopsy is needed, reducing unnecessary biopsies and improving patient outcomes.
The issue that isn’t being talked about is the fact that the public health sector is seriously lacking in MRI equipment and that’s where the backlog hits.
To screen all men who are at high risk, i.e. men over 50 and men with a family history/genetic disposition to the condition, will help to reduce death rates significantly.
But the Government isn't doing this because the public health sector doesn’t have enough MRI scanners to meet this demand, so they simply wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The availability of MRI scanners in the public health sector in the UK is a huge problem, because over 80% of all conditions require an MRI for diagnosis.
We have the second lowest number per capita in the whole of Europe.
Fortunately however, we do have a growing private health sector which has invested heavily in this area. Jorja Healthcare alone has five MRI scanners, and another five due to arrive in early 2026.
Prostate Cancer is a treatable illness, so it’s time the Government takes steps to save the 12,000 unnecessary deaths it’s facing a year due to a lack of equipment.
A national prostate cancer screening programme is much needed and long-overdue.
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Robin Emerson is the CEO of Jorja Healthcare which offers revolutionary healthcare solutions and recently launched a nationwide prostate campaign
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