Only one GP surgery has responded to Horsham District Council’s call to take part in Prostate Cancer UK’s Transform Trial to highlight the importance of early detection.
The call went out in July after a motion was tabled by Dennis Livingstone (Lib Dem, Nuthurst & Lower Beeding), who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020.
During a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (October 8), chairman Tony Bevis said he would send out a reminder to GPs, in the hope of getting a few more responses. The council will also contact the Health & Adults Social Care scrutiny committee at West Sussex County Council to keep them informed.
Mr Livingstone’s motion also called for annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for men over 50 and the removal of barriers for those asking for a test, even if they have no symptoms.
He said: “Not being diagnosed at an early stage for this cancer can be too late for effective treatment. There is currently no yearly screening programme – as there is for other cancers – and many organisations, including the charity Prostate Cancer UK, state that it’s very necessary.
“One-in-eight men will be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime and a simple test could prevent them from receiving the diagnosis too late.”
Screening is not routinely offered on the NHS, so Mr Bevis wrote to Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting asking for this policy to be changed.
To find out more about prostate cancer, log on to Prostate Cancer UK.
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