Focus on men’s health this week
To mark international Men’s Health Week, the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) is highlighting the fact that men with prostate cancer wait longer to see a specialist than those suspected of having other cancers. A prostate cancer diagnosis is typically made at a more advanced stage than breast cancer.
These were key points raised in a recent ECO paper identifying essential requirements for quality care of prostate cancer.
“There is evidence that despite primary care doctors being alerted to refer people to see specialists for all cancers within certain times, men with suspected prostate cancer wait longer than those suspected of other cancers,” says the essential requirements paper. “Apart from the possibility of missing treatment time for aggressive disease, this can also exacerbate psychological distress.”
Men’s Health Week runs from 13th to 19th June.