An ICM poll commissioned by The Prostate Cancer Charity asked men over 45 years of age what would most stop them from visiting their GP, if they were getting up to urinate several times at night. The findings paint a shocking picture of fear, lack of awareness about the symptoms of prostate cancer and most worryingly, men not being able to secure an appointment to see their doctor.
The main reasons given for delaying include:
• Almost one in three (28%) men thought is was normal for their age to get up many times at night to urinate.
• Over a quarter (26%) thought they would not be able to get a GP appointment so would not bother.
• More than a fifth (22%) were frightened and thought it meant they had prostate cancer.
• Sixteen per cent admitted to being concerned that they might need a rectal examination.
The Prostate Cancer Charity chief executive, John Neate, said: “It’s amazing that so many men have such low expectations of their quality of life, as they get older, and are prepared to accept uncomfortable symptoms as normal and simply not visit their GP.
“Until men have been to a GP, they would not know why they are getting up several times at night to pee. Although this can be a symptom of prostate cancer, it can also be due to treatable age-related, benign changes in the prostate. It is concerning that a fear of a prostate cancer diagnosis might stop men taking the first vital steps to understanding what is wrong with them.”
The ICM poll commissioned by The Prostate Cancer Charity also asked men what they thought was the key role of the prostate gland – a third (33%) correctly answered that it was important for sexual function.
Mr Neate said: “We asked this question in a similar poll last year and only 13% of men knew what the prostate gland did. Whilst the increase in knowledge is encouraging and most welcome, crucially, seven in ten men still don’t know about their prostate gland and the vital role it plays in their lives.
“We certainly do not want men to panic about getting prostate cancer, but we do want far more men to be aware of their risks of this disease and their health in general.”
