Lack of prostate cancer talk from GPs ‘worrying’

A “WORRYINGLY low” number of GPs in Scotland are starting discussions with men at higher risk of prostate cancer, research suggests.

Cancer drugs. The lack of discussion of prostate cancer has been dubbed 'worrying'. Picture: TSPL

Men over 50, those with a family history of prostate cancer and black men have a greater chance of developing the disease compared with others.

But research by Prostate Cancer UK found only 4 per cent of Scottish GPs said they initiated discussions about prostate health with symptomless men at a higher risk of prostate cancer due to their age.

For men under the age of 50 with no symptoms – but who have an increased risk due to their family history – only 11 per cent of the GPs said they always started discussions, compared to 23 per cent in the rest of the UK.

Prostate Cancer UK has launched a new national campaign – Men United v Prostate Cancer – using sport to engage men in the battle against the disease.

Scottish football legend Denis Law and Sir Michael Parkinson are among those supporting the campaign

Owen Sharp, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Men are dying through ignorance and we have to change that by giving them answers and helping them to engage in their own health.”