Professor Alison Birtle, consultant oncologist with the Trust, will hold an on-air prostate cancer clinic on the Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Lancashire on Wednesday January 29, from 8-8.30am.
Professor Birtle has been a regular guest on the show, after featuring on a Men's Health special on Radio Lancashire in November 2017, as host Graham Liver had his well man check live on air.
She will again join Graham, with Urology Specialist Nurse, Stephanie Yates-Dougherty, to help raise awareness, including that men aged 50 or over can ask their GP for a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, even if they do not have symptoms. Men with high risk, such as those with family history or black men, can ask from age 45.
A PSA test is a blood test to help check for prostate conditions such as prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.
Testing may be recommended if you have symptoms that could indicate prostate cancer, such as:
- Urinating more than usual, having a sudden urge to urinate or getting up often in the night to urinate
- Blood in your urine
- Problems getting or keeping an erection
- If your symptoms are caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it is easier to treat.
Routine PSA testing is not offered on the NHS but men can ask for a test. Men may also be offered a PSA test if a doctor thinks you have symptoms that could be prostate cancer.
Professor Birtle will discuss what happens next if your PSA level is high, such as being referred to a specialist for further tests, including scans and sometimes, but not always, a biopsy - which is not as painful as it used to be, due to a change in techniques.
She will also highlight that while prostate cancer is more common in older men, it is about your biological age, rather than your chronological age when it comes to treatment, and that many younger men are diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, her youngest patient being 39.
Exercise is important, with plenty of support locally within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Alliance, recently partnering with the Club Community Organisations at Accrington Stanley, Barrow AFC, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool FC, Burnley FC, Fleetwood Town, Morecambe FC, and Preston North End to deliver free Cancer Prehab sessions to cancer patients (18+) preparing for or currently receiving treatment.
There is also Move Against Cancer's 5k Your Way support group where people can walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer at your local 5KYW group and connect with other people impacted by cancer.
