Boosting prostate cancer funding by £290,000 a week could save the lives of 7,000 men EVERY YEAR
MORE than 7,000 lives could be saved every year if prostate cancer funding is boosted, it has been claimed.
Increasing funding by £290,000 a week could see a national screening programme within five years, while better supported research could develop better treatment and prevention options.
Angela Culhane, of Prostate Cancer UK, : "We're on the brink of the scientific breakthroughs needed to make a difference."
She added: "It’s incredibly encouraging to see the tremendous progress that has been made in breast cancer over recent years. But with half the investment and half the research, it’s not surprising that progress in prostate cancer is lagging behind.
"The good news is that many of these developments could be applied to prostate cancer and we’re confident that with the right funding, we can dramatically reduce deaths within the next decade."
She said that funding of around £120million over the next year eights could reverse the worrying figures released this week that revealed prostate cancer now kills more Brits than breast tumours.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
- Needing to urinate more often, especially at night
- Needing to rush to the toilet
- Difficulty in starting to pee
- Weak flow
- Straining and taking a long time while peeing
- Feeling that your bladder hasn't emptied fully
Prostate cancer currently claims 11,819 lives a year — overtaking breast cancer as the third deadliest form of the disease.
Experts blame men’s growing lifespan and a rising population.
But they also say breast cancer research spending since 2002 has doubled that on prostate cancer.
Some 55,000 breast tumour cases and 47,000 prostate — men’s No1 form of the disease — are diagnosed each year.
Prostate Cancer UK is now working to halve the number of expected prostate cancer deaths by 2026.
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Lung cancer is the deadliest form of the illness, killing 35,486 in 2015.
Bowel cancer is No2 with 16,067 deaths. Breast cancer killed 11,442 and pancreatic cancer 9,834.
NHS England said: “Cancer survival is at an all-time high, with 7,000 more surviving than three years before.”