Prostate cancer overtakes breast cancer as third biggest killer – The i newspaper online iNews

The number of men dying from prostate cancer every year has for the first time overtaken the number of women dying from breast cancer making it the third biggest cancer killer in the UK, official statistics reveal.

Some 11,819 men now die from prostate cancer every year – the equivalent of one man every 45 minutes – compared to 11,442 women who die from breast cancer, according to new figures released by the men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK.

“With half the investment and half the research it’s not surprising that progress in prostate cancer is lagging behind.”

Angela Culhane,  Chief Executive, Prostate Cancer UK

The rise – up from 9,460 two decades ago – is mainly due to an increasing and ageing population, but years of prostate cancer being the poor relation when it comes to funding for research to find a cure appear to have taken their toll. Since 2002 prostate cancer has received a total of just over £227m for research – less than half the £529m invested in breast cancer.

Trends show that the number of women dying from breast cancer has been steadily decreasing since 1999, when almost 13,000 women died. The drop has been helped by a screening programme and significant investments in research – more than double the number of breast cancer studies have been published over the last 20 years compared to prostate cancer studies.

Most at risk

Some 330,000 men in the UK currently either have prostate cancer or are in recovery. Men over 50, black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer all face a higher than average risk of the disease.

Despite it being the most common cancer in men, as recently as 2013 prostate cancer was 20th in the league table of UK cancer research funding per case diagnosed. Latest data from 2015/2016 compiled by the National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Database suggests prostate cancer funding has now much improved, although the centre said some diseases with lower levels of funding may not be fully represented as the data is only collected from NCRI partners.

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in the UK, accounting for almost a sixth (15 per cent) of all cases in males and females combined. However, experts are now warning prostate cancer will become the most common cancer by 2030 unless immediate action is taken.

Lung cancer and bowel cancer remain the top two most common cancers to die from, with around 35,500 and 16,000 annual deaths respectively.

Despite the alarming figures, the shift does not represent a worsening situation for prostate cancer and men diagnosed today are 2.5 times more likely to live for ten years or more than if they were diagnosed in 1990. As traditional prostate cancer treatment often causes devastating, long term side-effects, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction, a growing number of men are seeking proton therapy abroad, as i revealed last year.

‘No surprise’

Angela Culhane, Chief Executive of Prostate Cancer UK said; “It’s incredibly encouraging to see the tremendous progress that has been made in breast cancer over recent years. The introduction of precision medicine, a screening programme and a weighty research boost has no doubt played an important role in reducing the number of women who die from the disease.

“With half the investment and half the research it’s not surprising that progress in prostate cancer is lagging behind. However, 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.”

PCUK is launching a series of March for Men walks to help fund vital research, estimating it needs to fund around £120m of research money over the next eight years to reverse the trend and achieve its 10-year goal to halve the number of expected prostate cancer deaths by 2026.

Ms Culhane said: “The wheels are already in motion to turn these statistics around. Plans to create an accurate test fit for use as part of a nationwide prostate cancer screening programme, as well as developing new treatments for advanced prostate cancer are already well underway.

“However, to achieve these aims we need to increase our investment in research. We’re calling on the nation to sign up to a March for Men this summer to help raise the funds we desperately need to stop prostate cancer being a killer.”

No symptoms

Tony Collier, an accountant from in Timperley, Altrincham, was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer when he was 60 in May 2017. He was never prompted to get tested for prostate cancer and was only vaguely aware of his risks of the disease. As far as he is aware, there is no family history of prostate cancer. He never had any symptoms and was told by his urologist that he could have had the disease for 10 years.

“I’m a keen runner. After completing the Paris and Manchester marathons in April last year, as part of my training for the Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa in June, I had pain in my groin which wouldn’t go away.”

An MRI scan showed a shadow on his pelvic bone, which turned out to be prostate cancer. The pain Tony had been experiencing had been caused by stress fractures in his bones that had been weakened by the cancer.

“When I found out I was devastated, even more so when I was told the cancer was terminal. It made me think about all the things I might miss, such as seeing my 4-year-old grandson grow up into a teenager and walking my daughter up the aisle on her wedding day.”

Tony has run 19 marathons since the age of 50 and considers running a major part of his life and something that helps him to relax. He was desperate to keep on running after his diagnosis, but the doctor informed him that it will be a lot tougher. However, he is still running 3-4 times a week and in October 2017 ran the Manchester half marathon raising funds for The Christie Charity.

He has completed all 6 of the World Marathon Majors and is running the London marathon in April to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK.  Since his diagnosis, Tony is now semi-retired. He is spending more time with his grandson who he said is “the apple of my eye”.

Tony is also an awareness volunteer. He has a son who is in his 30s and has warned him to started getting tested for prostate cancer around the age of 40-45, due to his hereditary risk.

Tony plans to take part in Prostate Cancer UK’s Manchester March for Men. He hopes that the money raised at the event goes towards a proper screening process and is encouraging everyone to come along to help raise awareness and learn more about prostate cancer.

To sign up to a local March for Men, the Football March for Men, or to organise your own walk visit: prostatecanceruk.org/march