Campaign urges men to get prostate cancer check from GP

Campaigner John Wall is living with stage 4 prostate cancer and will share his experience in the hope it will encourage other men to get checked. Picture : Eamon Ward

A new campaign is urging men to stand up for their prostate health, stand up for themselves and get checked by their GP.

In 2020, 3,890 people were diagnosed with prostate cancer, making it the most common cancer in Ireland excluding non-melanoma skin cancer.

Worldwide, more than 1m men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and more than 300,000 die of the disease.

Statistics show that one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. However, when detected early, prostate cancer has very promising five-year survival rates of 92%. 

But like many other forms of cancer, these survival rates are all dependent on when the cancer is detected. Early detection saves lives and improves survival outcomes.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Ireland but many men with early prostate cancer have no symptoms at all.

The Marie Keating Foundation’s fourth annual Stand Up for Your Prostate Campaign, supported by Astellas in association with AstraZeneca and MSD, is encouraging men to be more open about their health and to speak to their GP about a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test — a simple blood test that monitors possible changes in the prostate — when they turn 50, or 45 with a family history of prostate cancer.

Urology nurse specialist and director of nursing services at the Marie Keating Foundation, Helen Forristal explains: “Men typically get a bad rap for not speaking about their health, but when resources and supports are put in place, we see that this is not the case. 

"Our Stand Up for Your Prostate campaign is designed to give men an opening to speak about their health with others, and this can be exactly what some men need to go to their GP. 

Our message this year is a simple one, if you are 50, ask your GP to consider checking your PSA levels. If you are 45 with a family history of prostate or breast cancer in the family, have that conversation. It could save your life.” 

This year’s Stand Up for your Prostate campaign we will be fronted by courageous campaign ambassador John Wall, a man living with stage 4 prostate cancer. He will share his experiences in the hope it will drive others to stand up for their prostate, listen to the campaign advice, get checked and have conversations with others about prostate health. 

He has tirelessly campaigned to support prostate cancer awareness and early detection. His campaign message is to “stand up for your prostate and stand up for yourself”.

Speaking on why he felt this campaign was so important, Mr Wall said: “The Marie Keating Foundation has given me the opportunity to have an honest discussion about the impact of an advanced cancer diagnosis and how I now live a life that will inevitably be shortened as a result. 

"By doing so, I hope that others will not only benefit from my lived experience, but also potentially avoid such a devastating impact by simply recognising the warning signs and acting upon them.

When I look back on it now, there are many warning signs that were there but I didn’t recognise them. If I had done, it would never have led to the diagnosis it ultimately led to. 

"My cancer would have been spotted on time, it would have been treatable and I would have gone on to live a long, happy, healthy life. Unfortunately, that will not be the case now. It will be happy but it won’t be long and healthy. I think it was more devastating for my family than for myself.” 

Prostate cancer’s early warning signs can include: frequency passing urine; getting up during the night to go to the toilet; pain on passing urine; difficulty passing urine; weak or intermittent flow; blood in the urine or semen at any time that is otherwise unexplained.

This year’s Stand Up for Your Prostate campaign aims to encourage men to take an active role in their health, and to speak to their GP if they have any concerns or worries about a change in their bodies.

For more information about this campaign, for information on prostate cancer, or information on fundraising to fight cancer, go to the Marie Keating Foundation website.