Dame Rebecca Harris, Castle Point MP, recently met with Prostate Cancer UK at an event in Parliament to discuss what more can be done to raise awareness of prostate cancer and what more can be done to those living with the illness.
Whilst not all men have the same risk of prostate cancer, current guidance treats all men the same. Simple changes to screening guidelines to ensure that GPs can speak to men at the highest risk about their option to have a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test could save lives.
The UK National Screening Committee which oversees these guidelines has already recognised the need to conduct an evidence review, however the timelines and accountability for this remain unclear. Dame Rebecca has long raised this issue and to change the guidance to account for higher risk patients receiving access to testing far sooner.
The new Labour Government’s manifesto committed to invest in advanced cancer scanners and to use new technologies such as AI to help detect cancer early. Dame Rebecca will work to ensure that funding for research into prostate cancer is continued and hold Health Ministers to account on their commitments.
Speaking after the event, Dame Rebecca said: “I recently met with Prostate Cancer UK in Westminster to talk about how we can help men who are at highest risk of harm from prostate cancer. I have always been supportive of Prostate Cancer UK’s campaign to change NHS guidance so that men at greater risk of prostate cancer are proactively told by GPs about PSA testing and I will continue to raise this with the new Labour Government.”
