A Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) staff member diagnosed with cancer has spoken about his experience to encourage more people to be aware of the condition, know the risks and seek help early if they have concerns.
Iain Sullivan, 48, of Kirkliston who works out of McDonald Road Community Fire and Ambulance Station as a Technician, received the news earlier this year he had prostate cancer.
Speaking of his journey, Iain, who is ex-military with 25 years full colour service and been with SAS for three years, said: “My father was his early 60s with prostate cancer. At the time, I was only 40, so it was deemed not necessary to get checked by NHS due to young age. After going through this, it is really important for me to raise awareness and encourage people to talk openly about any worries they may have and seek medical advice.”
Iain said last December his dad was advised his cancer had spread which led his dad to ask Iain in February this year to get tested due to the increased risk. The tests were simple and painless consisting of a blood test that measures the amount of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a marker in the blood, a digital rectal examination and a MRI scan. Following these tests, Iain was advised that he had tested positive for prostate cancer.
Iain said he wasn’t surprised by the news and added: “I had a feeling I was going to be positive – luckily my brother was clear.”
During the first months since the diagnosis, Iain said his “head has been all over the place”, but has since revealed his current position is Stage 1 of 4 which is the lower end of the spectrum, and at present hasn’t spread to other parts of the body.
Speaking of the support he has received he said his work colleagues have been “fantastic and supportive”.
Iain, who is currently off work, added: “My Crewmate Lewis has been checking up on me, along with the rest of the gang, and also my other friends and staff within the Edinburgh area have been supportive to me even through their own times of difficulties.
“They all work tirelessly and still have the kindness to look after each other. My partner Julie, who is also Ambulance technician, has shown amazing support and so has my son Brad, and other family members or course.”
Iain said he would urge people in his age bracket – and younger – to understand the risks, talk about them with friends and colleagues and seek help if they have concerns. It is important to understand that prostate cancer is the most prominent cancer in men.
He added: “It seems to be radio silence for men. I am surprised at the limited awareness of prostate cancer which is the most common cancer in men with more than 52,000 diagnosed every year.
People need to ask questions, seek advice and get help if you are worried. If nothing else, it’s worth the peace of mind and I will feel better for knowing you read this, are worried and then go to your GP”.
For more information, visit NHS inform or Prostate Cancer UK | Prostate Cancer UK who have a simple online risk checker that anyone can access to understand their risk in 30 seconds.
The trial will use innovative screening methods like an MRI scan and see hundreds of thousands of men across the country participating
On International Men’s Day, UK Government joins Prostate Cancer UK to unveil £42 million screening trial to find ways of detecting country’s most common male cancer earlier
Hundreds of thousands of men across the country will participate, with one in ten participants set to be black men who have a much higher prostate cancer risk
NHS England to carry out suite of improvements to men’s health pages online, and first ever Men’s Health Ambassador set to be appointed by government
Thousands of men’s lives could be saved, and their loved ones spared the tragedy of losing someone to cancer, as a major new prostate cancer screening trial is set to get under way in the UK backed by £42 million from the government and Prostate Cancer UK.
The first-of-its-kind trial – called TRANSFORM – will use innovative screening methods like an MRI scan to detect prostate cancer, and it will see hundreds of thousands of men across the country participating.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK and has no screening programme. It usually has no symptoms until it has grown large and may be more difficult to treat and, sadly, 12,000 men die of it every single year.
A way of effectively screening for prostate cancer could find these men before their cancer spreads and save their lives.
The trial has the potential to see new screening methods give more accurate results than the current blood tests, which can miss some cancers and often suggest prostate cancer when no cancer exists.
Crucially, screening could also spot the disease even when no symptoms are displayed.
Announcing the programme yesterday on Men’s Health Day, Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Cancer survival rates continue to improve in the UK, with the disease being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often. But more must be done.
Our hope is that this funding will help to save the lives of thousands more men through advanced screening methods that can catch prostate cancer as early as possible.
Laura Kerby, Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “12,000 men die of prostate cancer each year and it’s the most common cancer that doesn’t have a national screening programme.
“It’s about time that changed. That’s why we’re launching our biggest and most ambitious trial ever. It will finally give us the answers we need to develop a routine testing system and save thousands of men each year.
“Prostate Cancer UK’s unique focus and expertise made us the only organisation that could really deliver this paradigm-shifting trial, and we’re delighted that the government has backed our vision to revolutionise diagnosis.”
1 in 4 black men will develop prostate cancer – double the risk of other men. Therefore, to ensure the trial helps reduce their risk of dying from this disease, 1 in 10 men invited to participate will be black men. Participating men in the screening trial will be aged 50-75, with black men eligible from the lower age range of 45-75.
Men at higher risk of prostate cancer due to age and ethnicity will be recruited through their GP practice and invited to a screening visit.
More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK on average – that’s 144 men every day. Around 490,000 men are currently living with and after prostate cancer.
Sports broadcaster Steve Rider, 73, shared his prostate cancer diagnosis last month: “It was from talking with friends that I explored my risk of prostate cancer, I didn’t have any symptoms and wasn’t expecting to be diagnosed.
“Luckily, my cancer was all contained within the prostate, giving me the opportunity to have significant surgery to deal with it, but for too many men they are diagnosed late.”
£16 million will be invested by the government for the trial through the National Institute of Health Research and Prostate Cancer UK, who have led the development of the trial, will provide £26m. The trial is due to start in Spring 2024 with recruitment likely to begin in Autumn 2024.
The government has already opened 127 community diagnostic centres to offer quicker, more convenient checks outside of hospitals for conditions such as cancer, with over five million additional tests delivered so far.
The Major Conditions Strategy will also consider the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of conditions including cancer. The UK is already working with world renowned scientists to deliver new cancer vaccine trials and is growing the size of the specialist workforce.
Daniel Burkey, 58, from Yorkshire, was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in June 2021. He said: “Men need prostate cancer screening so that if we’ve got it, we can find out early enough to treat it and get rid of it. I got my diagnosis in my fifties, and the doctor told me the horrible news that it can’t be cured.
“It was an awful shock, and I still find it hard to accept that I’ll always have this disease, but I’m doing everything I can to control the cancer with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and two kinds of hormone therapy; one by injection, one orally.
“Things could have been different if I’d been tested routinely and caught it early enough. If the UK gets prostate cancer screening, so many lives will be saved. Knowing that this trial is going to find a way to do that makes me optimistic for other men.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), said: “New research into harnessing innovative screening methods is crucial in finding ways to detect this serious disease earlier, in the race against time to save lives.
“That’s why setting up this landmark new trial in partnership between NIHR and Prostate Cancer UK is so important.
“Together we can aim to generate high quality long-term evidence to benefit men at risk of developing this condition, and to inform those who plan and deliver NHS services of how best to test for the disease.”
In other measures announced yesterday:
Men’s Health Ambassador:
The government will be recruiting for the UK’s first ever Men’s Health Ambassador, we are inviting applications from anyone with an interest and expertise in men’s health.
The successful candidate, to be announced in the coming months, will be responsible for increasing awareness of certain conditions and health needs faced by men. They will help dispel taboos and stigmas and encourage more open conversations among men about their general health.
The role will be open for applications on GOV.UK shortly.
NHS Website Updates:
NHS England will deliver a host of important improvements and updates to pages on its website most used by men.
This will make it easier for men to both find and understand the help and support on offer for certain conditions.
Pages on issues like prostatitis, testicular cancer, and low sperm count will be updated in the coming months.
Men’s Health Task and Finish Group:
The government will establish the first Men’s Health Task and Finish Group.
Membership will include behavioural scientists, men’s health campaigners, experts and academics.
Together, they will help us identify how we can get more men to engage with their health, including a focus on better understanding male access to primary care services, such as GPs, and male uptake of the NHS Health Check.
The SPFL Trust, in partnership with Prostate Scotland, are continuing their exercise programme for men living with prostate cancer following a hugely successful 12-week pilot programme.
The initial phase of this project took place in the capital at Tynecastle, delivered by Heart of Midlothian FC and at Ibrox, with Rangers Charity Foundation.
The programme is a tailored version of Football Fans in Training (FFIT), the SPFL Trust’s flagship health and wellbeing programme which takes place at football clubs across the country, helping people to get active and feel fitter, healthier and happier.
The next cohort kicks off on September 19 in Kilmarnock, with The Killie Community, and in the capital, with Heart of Midlothian FC at Tynecastle on September 20.
Working together with experts from Prostate Scotland, the University of Glasgow Health and Wellbeing Institute and The Exercise Clinic, the programme has been developed based on clinical guidelines for men living with prostate cancer, which recommend a structured 12-week exercise programme.
Prostate FFIT is open to all men living with prostate cancer, who can self-refer online, or be referred by a clinician.
As well as having the opportunity to take part in exercise supported by trained coaches, participants will learn more about nutrition. They will also receive a personal workbook to help them follow the course and have access to specifically developed videos to continue exercise at home.
Crucially, Prostate FFIT will create space for men affected by prostate cancer to meet others in a similar situation, offering informal peer support.
David Plaintook part in the pilot programme with Heart of Midlothian FC. “It was really good on a number of levels,” he said.“You immediately have something in common with every single person in the room. We’re all at different stages of our journey, but we all have prostate cancer.
David (fourth from left) and his Prostate FFIT group during a session at Tynecastle
“There was someone else on the course who had the same treatment as me. It was just good to know that what I was experiencing wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“I’ve continued with exercise after the course. Three of us meet up once a week to go to a fitness class and have a coffee.
“You don’t feel the need to hide the fact that you have Prostate Cancer. Prostate FFIT is a safe place to go and everyone there is going through a similar journey.”
Adam Gaines, Director of Prostate Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be offering these new courses with our partners at the SPFL Trust, The Killie Community and Heart of Midlothian FC.
“Prostate FFIT is aimed at helping tackle the impact prostate cancer can have on the lives of men living with it, especially for those on hormone therapy.
“The benefit of Prostate FFIT courses, offered in professional football clubs, is in providing engaging and helpful exercise and healthy lifestyle sessions, in line with clinical guidelines. Recent research by the University of Glasgow has shown many benefits that Prostate FFIT courses can have on men living with prostate cancer.”
Walking Football Scotland has chosen Prostate Cancer UK as their official charity partner and aims to educate and help raise awareness of the disease amongst its 1,800 members through regular communications, such as newsletters, awareness talks from charity volunteers and featuring the iconic Man of Men logo on event banners.Continue reading Walking Football Scotland to support Prostate Cancer UK
Almost 1 in 5 men ‘lethally ignorant’ they even have a prostate, new survey finds
Prostrate Cancer UK has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the lethal disease.
over 2,900 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Scotland
over 850 men die from prostate cancer every year in Scotland
two men die from prostate cancer every day in Scotland.
The charity’s latest research reveals a shocking lack of awareness among men about their own bodies and their risk of prostate cancer, leading to thousands of needless deaths each year – but a new nationwide TV advertising campaign aims to tackle the ignorance head on.
Despite one man every hour dying from prostate cancer, it seems most men still have no idea what the gland does or even that they have one.
PCUK’s new survey of almost 2,000 men found a massive 92% of them had no idea that the prostate helps make the fluid sperm swims in and contains muscles for ejaculation, with more than half not knowing where it was in their body and 17% unaware of it altogether.
Worryingly 88% of men from higher risk groups – those over 50, black or with a family history of the disease – were unaware of their increased danger. An alarming 11% of them believed they were actually at lower risk of developing prostate cancer, and 86% of black men didn’t know they were twice as likely as any other racial group in the UK.
The shocking results coincide with our new nationwide TV advertising campaign, urging men to stop ignoring prostate cancer and join the fight to beat the disease. With enough money and the right action from clinicians and researchers, PCUK believes we can halve the 14,500 men projected to die from prostate cancer in 2026, creating the better diagnosis and treatments that will make it a disease the next generation needn’t fear.
“Ignoring your prostate can be lethal,” says Prostate Cancer UK chief executive, Angela Culhane. “You can’t see it, you can’t feel it, and shockingly many men only realise they have a prostate when it starts to go wrong.
“If men really knew what the prostate can do to them, they wouldn’t ignore it. As a country, we need to wake up and stop men dying needlessly. Ignoring prostate cancer won’t beat it – only fighting it will. Now is the time to join the fight to beat this disease.”
