Prostate Cancer becomes most commonly diagnosed cancer in England

pharmafile | January 28, 2020 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |  Cancer, Cancer diagnoses, NHS England, breast cancer, prostate cancer 

Prostate cancer has overtaken breast cancer to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer for the first time in England, latest figures show.

In 2018, there were nearly 8,000 more cases than in 2017. Overall there were 316,680 cancers diagnosed in 2018, with prostate being the most common type with 49,029 cases, with breast cancer close behind with 47,476 cases.

Public Health England says it is because more men are getting tested, thanks to increased awareness through things like the English football league carrying out awareness campaigns as well as celebrities like Stephen Fry opening up about his experience with the disease.

Lucy Elliss-Brookes, Head of Cancer Analysis at Public Health England, said: “Although we are seeing a continued rise in cancer diagnoses, it’s encouraging that we are also seeing increases in survival, as well as an overall decrease in emergency diagnoses of cancer.”

Catching cancer early is vital to stop it spreading to other parts of the body which increases the chance of death due to the disease.

Professor Peter Johnson, Professor at the University of Southampton, said these numbers are only going to increased and praised the heightened awareness from celebrities. He said “As people live longer, we’re likely to see prostate cancer diagnosed more often, and with well-known figures like Rod Stewart, Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull all talking openly about their diagnosis, more people will be aware of the risk.”

Conor Kavanagh