Former Scotland rugby international Kenny Logan is calling for a national campaign to screen men for prostate cancer from the age of 45.
The 52-year-old, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2022, insists too many are dying because they are not being encouraged to go for tests.
And he has told Mail Sport that a programme should be rolled out across the UK in a bid to identify the problem before it has a chance to deteriorate.
Logan’s demand follows Sir Chris Hoy’s recent admission that he has been given between two and four years to live after his cancer – which started in his prostate – spread elsewhere.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist’s plight promoted a huge upsurge in men seeking advice about prostate cancer, and Logan says he would back a campaign in Sir Chris’ name so that generations to come are given faster access to treatment.
‘Yes, I would definitely back this,’ said Logan, husband of BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan. ‘Chris is a young man, he’s only 48. So why not make testing earlier? Forty-five seems like a good age. We’ve been trying to roll that out at 50, maybe we should change that.
Kenny Logan was prompted to go for a test after listening to wife Gabby’s podcast
Kenny Logan enjoyed a successful rugby career, winning 70 caps for Scotland
Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy recently revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer
‘We need to educate people, and doctors have to be more alert and say: “Right, you need to get tested”. There should be a national campaign for 45-year-olds, because this is the biggest killer for men. Fifty feels a bit old. It should be like an MOT. It should be the first thing that happens. You’ve got to go and get tested.
‘All of this (the current situation) is putting more pressure on the NHS, and pressure on families? The way to attack it is to get it early.’
At the moment, routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing is not offered on the NHS, although a doctor can offer a test if they believe a patient has symptoms. Men aged over 50 can ask their GP for a PSA test, even if they don’t have symptoms.
Logan was prompted to go for a test after listening to wife Gabby’s podcast, The Midpoint, about changes in midlife for women.
As a result, it was discovered there were high levels of PSA in his blood. A biopsy confirmed cancer and he had his prostate removed.
Logan is adamant that, had he not checked in voluntarily, his prognosis could have been far more devastating.
‘The one thing I would say, which is really important, is that I had no symptoms. It wasn’t like people say: “Yes, I go to bed. I get up twice a night and go for a pee”. I’m still doing that and I haven’t got a prostate.
‘You can actually prevent this by going and finding it. That’s what my specialist said, the thing about prostate cancer is you need to find it. So you need to get tested well before. I randomly came across it. And I was, like: “Right, it needs to come out”. So there’s definitely something that needs to be done about this.
‘If you can find something that stops people getting cancer, that’s surely going to help the knock-on effect. There is more pressure on the health service, more pressure on individuals. So is there something in a well-man clinic being set up?
‘Obviously people can pay for it, but they shouldn’t be getting knocked back or misunderstood by their own doctors.
‘Go get a blood test. And, if your bloods are high, you’ll be glad of that blood test. You’ll be glad of getting it checked out. It’s so important.
‘I can’t imagine what Chris and his wife Sarra are now going through.
‘I’ve known him for a while and known that he was struggling with this. I’m absolutely devastated for him.’
The Daily Mail have relaunched our End Needless Prostate Deaths campaign in a bid to improve diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
A recent NHS National Cancer Patient Experience Survey has suggested that men are being diagnosed late and suffering avoidable deaths because they have to fight to be taken seriously by doctors.
