NELFT is marking Men’s Health Week (10-16 June) and Father’s Day (16 June) by raising awareness of prostate cancer, the symptoms, and ways to check your risk.

The theme for Men’s Health Week 2024 is ‘Let’s talk Prostates’.

Earlier this year, King Charles shared that he had a problem with an enlarged prostate. On the day after his announcement, there were 16,410 visits to the relevant NHS website pages compared with 1,414 visits the previous day.

Prostate Cancer UK saw an almost doubling in the number of users of its online risk checker after the King made his announcement. This goes to show the difference that honest sharing can make.

1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer. If you’re over 50, or you’re black, or your dad or brother had it, you’re at even higher risk. Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs for many years. It's the most common cancer in men, but the earlier you find it, the easier it is to treat.

Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Check your Risk’ online checker is free, anonymous and takes just 30 seconds. 2.5 million men have already taken the risk checker.

To check your risk, visit: Check your risk in 30 seconds | Prostate Cancer UK

A common sign of a prostate problem can be difficultly in passing urine. You might experience:

• a weak flow
• intermittency — a flow which stops and starts.
• hesitancy — having to wait before you start to go.
• frequency — having to urinate more often than previously.
• urgency — finding it difficult to postpone urination.
• nocturia — having to get up at night to urinate.

These symptoms may not mean you have prostate cancer; however, the symptoms should not be ignored. If you have any symptoms, go to your GP or use NHS 111. It is more likely that they are caused by something else, such as prostate enlargement.

To find out more about Men’s Health Week, visit: https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/mhw