March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Organised by Prostate Cancer UK this special month aims to raise awareness of prostate cancer, as well as raise money so the charity can provide even better support to both sufferers and their families.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and it is thought that here in the UK around 36,000 are diagnosed with this terrible disease each year. 

Laila Noble, therLaila Noble therapeutic radiographer.jpgapeutic radiographer at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust, said: “Often men have no signs or symptoms and little awareness of the disease.”

Prostate cancer kills 10,000 men in the UK every year. Prostate Cancer UK is available for support and information.

The prostate is a gland. It is usually the size and shape of a walnut and grows bigger as you get older. It sits underneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine (wee) out of the body. The prostate's main job is to help make semen – the fluid that carries sperm.

Ms Noble said: “Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate start to grow in an uncontrolled way.”

Some prostate cancer grows too slowly to cause any problems or affect how long you live. Because of this, many men with prostate cancer will never need any treatment.

But some prostate cancer grows quickly and is more likely to spread. This is more likely to cause problems and needs treatment to stop it spreading.

Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, and your risk increases with age. Experts say the risk is even higher for black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer.

Other symptoms of prostate cancer include: difficulty in starting to urinate, straining or taking a long time while urinating, weak flow, feeling that the bladder had not emptied fully.

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FACTS AND FIGURES

  • Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
  • More than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year – that's 129 men every day.
  • Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer – that's more than 11,500 men every year.
  • 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
  • Around 400,000 men are living with and after prostate cancer.

In England

  • More than 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in England.
  • More than 9,000 men die from prostate cancer every year in England.
  • Every hour, one man dies from prostate cancer in England.
  • More than 325,000 men are living with and after prostate cancer in England.

For more information contact http://prostatecanceruk.org/