London, 01 September 2018
The Urology Foundation is calling on men to better understand the signs and symptoms of urology disease.
Recent polling has revealed that knowledge of men’s health is dangerously low amongst British adults. Urology diseases such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer are not well understood and men are not looking out for the signs and symptoms of these deadly diseases.
Polling from The Urology Foundation has revealed the following:
While awareness of prostate cancer has risen steadily, understanding of the prostate and of prostate cancer remains low. With many adults unaware that men should be tested for prostate cancer from the age of 50, patients are at risk of late detection, by which stage the cancer may be well advanced.
By the same token, illiteracy around prostate cancer could be leading men young men to be worried about a disease that they are not at risk of getting for several decades.
Testicular cancer is more likely to affect men under the age of 40 and yet less than half of men under 44 have checked their testicles for lumps in the last year, despite the advice being for monthly checks. As well as this, half of British adults do not know the age range when men are most likely to get testicular cancer.
This lack of knowledge around men’s cancers is a significant cause for concern.
Mr Ben Eddy is a leading prostate cancer surgeon at Kent and Canterbury Hospital,
“These statistics are a concern for all of us. If two thirds of Britons do not know what a prostate does, how could they know that blood in semen or blood in pee are symptoms of prostate cancer? When men do not understand what is and is not normal with their bodies they are putting themselves at risk.
“As a prostate surgeon I want to give men the best chance of healthy lives, but I am best able to do that when we can catch a cancer early. If men learn about their bodies we can begin to end the impact urology diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer have on families.”
Louise de Winter is the CEO of The Urology Foundation
“We have produced these statistics because we want to drive a message home to men: your health is in your hands. September is Urology Awareness Month and we are using this campaign to provide men with the tools they need to learn about their health. It is only by taking ownership of their bodies that men can beat prostate and testicular cancer.”
Men are being encouraged to learn more on The Urology Foundation’s website and to see their GP if they are concerned by any symptoms they are presenting.
