Check your risk of Prostate Cancer
In partnership with NHS England, the charity Prostate Cancer UK has launched a new campaign encouraging people to check their risk of getting prostate cancer.
The online 30-second checker asks some simple questions about age, ethnicity, and family history, offering helpful information and next steps if you might be at risk.
Check your risk in 30 seconds with Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker.
About Prostate Cancer
The prostate is a small gland that sits at the base of the bladder. It’s about the size of a walnut but gets bigger as you get older. Its job is to help produce semen, the fluid that carries sperm.
It is the most common cancer found in men in the UK, with 40,000 new cases and 9,000 deaths recorded in England every year.
Risk Factors
Understanding risk factors is vital because, in most cases, prostate cancer develops with no obvious or early symptoms.
One in every eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. For Black men, that risk jumps to one in 4.
If your Dad or Brother has had prostate cancer, your risk will be higher too. Your risk also increases when you pass the age of 50 as well.
The 30-second risk checker takes you through these questions and works out your risk level.
If you are at high risk, you’ll be offered some information about a blood test used as the first step to identifying early prostate cancer. It’s called a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test.
You can read more about that and other tests here.
Check Your Risk of Prostate Cancer
Symptoms
Other illnesses can also cause many of the symptoms associated with prostate cancer. There are often no early symptoms, so understanding your risk is essential.
Some symptoms, though, would merit a conversation with your GP.
Changes to how you urinate are some of the most common symptoms, including needing to go more often, especially at night, difficulty getting started or not feeling like your bladder has properly emptied.
These types of symptoms can also be caused by an enlarged prostate – a very common and non-cancerous condition.
If prostate cancer advances or spreads further into the body, it can cause hip, back, or pelvis pain and unexpected weight loss. Difficulty getting or maintaining an erection can also be a sign of prostate cancer, as can blood in your urine or semen.
About Prostate Cancer UK
Prostate Cancer UK is a charity that funds research to stop prostate cancer from killing people. As well as investing in better treatments and screening tests to spot fast-growing cancer, they provide essential resources and support for people with prostate cancer.
Find out more at prostatecanceruk.org.