Call to watch out for cancer signs
Specialists at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust are urging men to be aware of the early signs of prostate cancer.
March is prostate cancer awareness month, and Jason Alcorn, clinical nurse specialist is advising men across the district to make sure they seek advice at the earliest opportunity if they notice any of the symptoms.
He said: “It’s a common disease that, if caught early, can be treated very easily. Men can be very reluctant to go to their doctor, but if you are at all worried you must see your GP.”
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with 40,000 diagnosed every year. In the Mid Yorkshire area, more than 300 men are diagnosed with the disease annually.
The main symptoms include needing to urinate more frequently, difficulty in urinating and feeling the bladder has not emptied fully.
Jason said: “If you have these symptoms, discuss them with your GP. They could be something as simple as a urinary infection – and you would be tested for that – but you must see your doctor.”
Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50, and the risk increases with age. Men are two-and-a-half times more likely to get prostate cancer if their father or brother has been diagnosed with it, compared with men who have no affected relatives.
He added: “We find that those who come to us with a diagnosis of cancer are usually in their 60s or older, but increasingly it is being found in men in their 50s, and very rarely, their 40s.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wakefield
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
