Prostate checks in 30s a waste, say GPs

A DOCTORS’ representative has said if a man in his 30s came to his surgery seeking a screening for prostate cancer he would “tell him to get lost,” and that “it was a waste of resources”.

Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) spokesman Dr Niall O'Cléirigh said prostate cancer did not affect men under 50 and to examine anyone below that age limit would be a waste of time.

However, men's cancer specialist Prof John Armstrong, radiation oncologist at St Lukes Hospital, University College Dublin and a member of the Irish Cancer Society's medical committee, disagreed with the ICGP.