A prostate cancer screening event organised by the Island’s Prostate Cancer Support Group found 75 of the 250 men who were tested to be showing potential early signs of cancer.
Some of those who undertook screening were advised to seek further medical advice while others advised to undergo repeat screening testing within the next 12 months.
Those attending the event in Cowes provided blood samples which were couriered over to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth where they were tested for increased levels of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA).
PSA is protein produced by both cancerous and non-cancerous tissue in the prostate – and can be an early sign of cancer. The screening allows people to be alerted to the risk at an early stage so they can seek further tests from their GP as identifying prostate cancer at an early stage gives men the best chance of a full recovery.
Alan Taylor, chairman of the Isle of Wight Prostate Cancer Support Group, said:
“We would like to thank all our supporters and volunteers who made the screening event possible and to those who chose to get tested.
“We had been advised by NHS (IW) that they were concerned by the drop in referrals over the Covid period and so there was an expectation of higher numbers than our usual 10% with abnormal results.
“This year we are using a new more accurate and detailed protocol to issue the results to the men. This means that not only are some men being recommended to seek further medical advice from their GP, but also some have been recommended to attend another PSA test within the next 12 months, so that further results can be obtained.
Article continues below this advertisement “Putting these 2 groups together resulted in 75 men receiving these instructive results.
“We wish to thank our partners in organising and running this event, including all our volunteers on the day, and especially Wightlink for supporting us with travel to help our courier to deliver the 250 blood samples from the Isle of Wight to QA Hospital in Portsmouth.”
The Isle of Wight Prostate Cancer Support Group is planning its next PSA blood test event, the second of 4 this year, on 24th July; please check its website www.iwpcsg.org and https://iow.mypsatests.org.uk for more details.
Great work. More should be done to combat this. Should be brought into line with all the good work that is done to fight and prevent cancers in women. Early detection saves lives and saves the NHS a lot of money.
Why oh why don’t all GP surgeries on the island display prostate cancer notices in their waiting areas. When I brought this up with my G P I was told that they had a notice up in the toilet….Really! Cheers Richard.
Test booked. Thank you Island Echo.