One of the main headlines in the news recently was the Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy announcing that in September 2023, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  It may have begun as prostate cancer,  but it has sadly spread to other parts of his body, a process known as “metastasisng” and is now terminal.

In a BBC News article, he called it:

“…..the biggest shock of my life….. No symptoms, no warnings, nothing. All I had was a pain in my shoulder and a little bit of pain in my ribs.”

You really wouldn’t necessarily connect with prostate cancer, would you?

On BBC Breakfast, Sir Chris said he would like to see the age limit for testing for prostate cancer brought down, so that younger men get the opportunity to be checked out.  At the moment,  prostate-specific antigen blood tests (PSA”) tests are not offered routinely to men under 50 who have no symptoms, or we should say no obvious symptoms.  This does not mean that these men do NOT have prostate cancer.  It just means that no-one has spotted any symptoms yet, so they could be at risk.

NHS guidelines for England are that anyone can request a PSA test if they are over the age of 50 and men of any age who have symptoms can also ask for one. Doctors are advised to “use their judgement”.

Sir Chris is 48.

Men are very often their own worst enemy when it comes to illness.  We are sure we all know at least one man who will just shrug off illnesses with an “I’m fine; don’t fuss!”.  Worried partners, family and friends will say “Do you think you’d best have the doctor look at that…?”.

This is especially so if there is a history of prostate cancer in the family.

“No, no” they say, “It’s nothing, I don’t want to bother the GP”.  Until they wish they had.  Ok, none of us like blood tests, nor sometimes physical examinations that might be embarrassing, but 30 seconds of embarrassment could save your life.

The government has said it will have a look at whether lowering the age for routine testing would be beneficial, but they have to look at the clinical evidence.  Sir Chris’s view is that it must be obvious that if you bring in more men for screening, even just statistically, more cancers will be detected and more to the point, diagnosed at a time when treatment can be effective.

The charity Prostate Cancer UK supports Sir Chris’s view.  Chiara De Biase, for the charity, said:

        “There is currently no routine screening for prostate cancer, yet one in eight men will get it”

She recommends:

“If your dad or brother has had prostate cancer, or you’re black, you have the highest risk of getting the disease.  Talk to your GP about testing from 45. At the moment, you have to raise the issue yourself”

No-one will, or can, do this for you.  The risk increases with age.

Whilst we too applaud Sir Chris for his openness and efforts to raise awareness of this often hidden disease, there is a slight note of caution.

Routine PSA testing or screening is not offered on the NHS, because experts say the test is not accurate enough on its own to rule in or out cancer reliably.  Thus there will be men who may get an incorrect diagnosis. Adding MRI scanning might improve the diagnostic statistics.

PSA is not diagnostic. A raised PSA level does not necessarily mean there is cancer. It can be elevated with other conditions too, such as inflammation. If you ask for a PSA test, your doctor may advise you to think carefully about the benefits and disadvantages, which should be discussed with you.

As medical negligence solicitors, we see both sides. We see men whose cancers have indeed been missed, but the medical records show no attendances at a GP or other clinic for years before a diagnosis.  Doctors can only deal with patients who come to see them-yes, we understand the difficulties of getting appointments these days.

We also see the reverse-men who have been given a diagnosis of prostate cancer and then are told that actually, they haven’t got it. This can be very distressing, especially if there is a long time between the incorrect and correct diagnoses, but ultimately is a great relief.  It can mean, however that they have had potentially unnecessary treatment, including surgery.

In law, a “wrong” diagnosis isn’t necessarily of itself negligent.  It depends on the circumstances of the diagnosis either way.

Sir Chris is being amazingly positive and is unsurprisingly getting a lot of support.  He wants to see a “surge” in men being examined because he has spoken out and that seems to be happening.  He also says this:

         “Our time on this planet is finite. Don’t waste your time worrying about stuff that isn’t that important. Focus on the things that are”

Looking after your health has to be one of those things, surely?

 

If you would like to discuss a potential medical claim, do get in touch with us for an informal chat.