Prostate cancer: the three questions to tell if you’re at risk

What’s my risk of prostate cancer?

One in eight men will get it: over-50s are most affected and your risk increases with age. The cause is unknown and symptoms don’t usually appear until the prostate becomes enlarged and affects the tube that carries urine from the penis (urethra). Anyone with a prostate could get it, including trans women and non-binary people who were assigned male at birth and some intersex people.  

Factors such as family history could put you at a higher risk, particularly if your father or brother had prostate cancer or your mother or sister had breast cancer. Ethnicity affects your risk too – it’s more common in Black men compared with other ethnic backgrounds (one in four Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime). The reason why is not yet known.

Nothing to be embarrassed about

Because early stage prostate cancer doesn’t always show symptoms, it’s important to be aware of your risk. Awareness of the disease has been boosted by celebrities, including Stephen Fry, Sir Ian McKellen and Nile Rodgers, talking openly about being diagnosed and living with it.

In the week following much-loved TV presenter Bill Turnbull’s death from the disease last August, Prostate Cancer UK saw a 2,500% increase in people using their risk checker, and the charity noticed the “Fry-Turnbull” effect causing a spike in referrals. Fry and Turnbull both announced their diagnosis in 2018 and the charity is now encouraging people to “Broadcast it like Bill”, and talk about symptoms and check their risk.

Check your risk – and find out what to do

Referrals for urological cancer (which also includes kidney, bladder, testicle and penis as well as prostate) in England rose 17% in the past year to 262,044. If you do have any of the symptoms listed, or something doesn’t feel quite right, it’s important to see your GP to rule out anything serrious. This can be done with a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test or an examination.

Amy Rylance, head of improving care at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Prostate cancer often has no symptoms in its early, more treatable stages – so a man could feel fit and well while unknowingly living with the disease.

“That’s why it’s so important to understand your level of risk, which is higher for all men over 50. If you’re Black, or your dad or brother had the disease, the risk is even greater, so we strongly recommend you speak to your GP from the age of 45.

“You can check your risk, and find out what you can do about it, using Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker.”

NHS national clinical director for cancer, Professor Peter Johnson, said: “It is fantastic to see men coming forward in record numbers for checks, and that means more are getting treated, potentially catching cancers early when the results are best.”

Worried about prostate cancer?

Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer can contact Prostate Cancer UK’s specialist nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service on the website. The specialist nurse phone service is free from landlines and open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays (10am to 5pm on Wednesdays).