Men urged to check prostate cancer risk after thousands miss diagnosis in pandemic

Thousands of men are being urged to check their risk of prostate cancer amid warnings that more than 14,000 have missed a diagnosis during the pandemic.

New figures show that the disease accounts for a third of those not treated for cancer during the pandemic, making it the cancer most likely to have been missed and putting lives at risk.

Experts said many men had held off visiting their GP which meant they could now be missing out on vital treatment. NHS figures suggest nearly 50,000 fewer cancer diagnoses across the UK in the Covid crisis, including 34,000 in England.

Experts said prostate cancer made up the largest group of missed cases, followed by breast cancer, of which around 8,000 cases have gone undiagnosed.

Prostate Cancer UK and NHS officials are urging men to use an online tool to assess their risk, with those found to be at high risk urged to then visit their GP.

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Source: The Telegraph, 17 February 2022