More than 2,000 black men will die from prostate cancer in the next 10 years if the UK doesn’t change its screening programme, stark new figures reveal.
Around 1 in four Black men in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives – twice the rate of white men. The reasons for the disparities vary, but contributing factors include genetics, a lack of awareness, delays in seeking help and barriers to accessing diagnostic tests.
Last month, the government’s National Screening Committee (NSC) rejected proposals for a targeted prostate cancer screening programme for high-risk men, which includes black men and those with a family history of cancer, because it said the harms of widespread testing outweigh the benefits and also cited a lack of available data on black patients.
Now, new estimates from the charity Prostate Cancer UK, shared with The Independent, suggest that if nothing changes, more than 2,300 black men will die over the next decade, and at least 16,000 men will be diagnosed, if current rates of the disease continue.
Amy Rylance, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We were bitterly disappointed by the UK NSC’s announcement that the evidence isn’t yet strong enough to recommend targeted screening for Black men.
“While we accept the committee’s decision that the data they reviewed had too many gaps, a significant opportunity has been missed. The NHS holds electronic health data that could fill these gaps — but nobody has made full use of these records, and they weren’t reviewed by the Committee.”
She said that the charity would work alongside the NSC to find the missing data and build the evidence base we need to secure screening for Black men, “as quickly as possible.”
Prostate Cancer UK is funding a research project to analyse NHS records for the data needed, and the results are expected within the next year.
Patients and those who have lost loved ones to prostate cancer have accused the government’s committee of racial bias over the decision.
Jeff Thompson, 63, recalled the shock he felt when doctors told him that he had stage two prostate cancer in March 2018.
He told The Independent: “They said to me. Mr Thompson, I’m sorry to say you’ve got prostate cancer… I thought to myself, I’m going to die.
“I could not believe I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, being such a fit and healthy man.”
Within two weeks, Mr Thompson had his prostate removed, but then faced a long recovery, which left him “haunted”, “isolated,” and in a desperate situation.
He said: “I didn’t realise the impact the recovery was going to have on me… no one said to me you’re going to be haunted by that mental trauma.
“I was wetting myself profusely… suffering from erectile dysfunction, urinary dysfunction.”
Following one harrowing incident in public, he said: “I got home, closed my curtains, switched off the TV, disconnected myself from the outside and then I sat there, and I looked at myself and said, ‘What have I become? Cancer has robbed me of my life.”
“If I had the support from the beginning, I don’t think I’d reach that far. I felt less of a man. I couldn’t speak to anyone.”
Mr Thompson said he was “devastated” when reports of the national screening committee’s decision surfaced.
He said, “I felt like we [black men] were not thought about. If the statistics are true, then why in heaven’s name has it [a screening programme] been declined… if it were any other race, would it be okay, would that whole view change, is it because we always seem to be getting the bitter end of the stick? Is it because we don’t matter so much?
“I feel as if the government are playing russian roulette.”
Tina Davies, who lost her father Joseph Davies in 2011, five years after he was diagnosed with stage three prostate cancer, told The Independent: “It is as if black men are being punished for something, or they are not worth [life]. Black men are at the highest risk of prostate cancer, as opposed to 1 in 8 white men. Is this [decision] because it is black men?”
“The screening committee are talking about equity. The evidence is there. Why are men being discriminated against? Our men are dying.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government wants to see screening in place for prostate cancer, provided this is backed by evidence.“
“The independent UK National Security Committee invited new evidence to be submitted to its consultation and is examining the latest data and arguments thoroughly to bring together those with differing views, ahead of its final recommendation.“
“We are determined to improve outcomes for men with prostate cancer. We’re expanding access to life-extending treatments, cutting waiting times and ensuring Black men – who face twice the risk of dying from prostate cancer – are at the heart of our research efforts.”
