Today, we had a great time at Croydon Tabernacle raising awareness of prostate cancer. This event was part of Prostate Cancer UK’s Engagement and Empowerment pilot which aims to reach black men with the key messages about prostate cancer and prostate conditions.

The event took the format of a presentation followed by a Q&A. Abi Begho delivered the presentation covering: what is the prostate; prostate conditions; symptoms; risk factors; and know your rights

We then moved on to what symptoms men should look out for and these included:

• Needing to pee more often, especially at night
• Difficulty starting to pee
• Straining or taking a long time to finish peeing
• A weak flow
• A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly
• Needing to rush to the toilet
• Dribbling urine

It was stressed that these symptoms are associated with non-serious prostate conditions as well as prostate cancer so if men do experience any of these symptoms it could be due to a number of reasons.

Furthermore, we gave an overview of the risk factors for prostate cancer, which are:

• Increasing age (prostate cancer is more common in men over the age of 50),
• Ethnicity (black men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than other men)
• Family history (men with father or a brother with prostate cancer are 2.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to men who don’t have a family history)

We explained that if  attendees ever experience any symptoms they should visit their GP who will conduct a series of tests to determine if there is a prostate problem. These tests will include a urine test, a PSA blood test and a digital rectal examination.

We finished the presentation by informing attendees that they have the right to more information if they are concerned and they have the right to have a PSA test if they are 50 and over.

The Q&A after the presentation led to discussions on prevention, differentiating serious symptoms from non-serious symptoms, the PSA test, diet and prostate cancer and why prostate cancer is more common in black men.

After some mingling and refreshments the presentation was repeated in a more informal format for late comers – more of a roundtable discussion.

We had a great day, the audience was very receptive and engaged and we’d like to say a big thank you to Croydon Tabernacle and Prostate Cancer UK for their help in making this event a reality.

Today is the final day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in this week’s blog we want to end the month by highlighting the key things that women should know about this disease, which are: the signs and symptoms, risk factors, prevention and the screening process.

The Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of breast can be identified by carrying out regular breast self-examinations. These should be done at least once a month. The aim of the self-examination is do a visual and physical inspection of your breasts. You can do the visual part in front of a mirror and you should look out for changes in the size, shape and texture of your breasts as well as changes to your nipples (inverted nipple or a discharge).

Once you’ve carried out a visual examination, the next step is to do a physical one where you use the palm of your hands to feel both breasts and your armpit area for any lumps.

If you notice any of the symptoms of breast cancer visit your GP or doctor as soon as possible. It may not be breast cancer but it is best to rule it out.

You can find out more about how to do a breast self-examination in the video below.

The Risk Factors

The two main factors that increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer are: age and family history.

Age: As we get older our risk of developing breast cancer increases. The majority of breast cancers (80%) occur in women who are aged 50 and over.

Family History/Genetics: 5-10% of breast cancers are hereditary. If you have one first-degree relative with breast cancer, this doubles your risk of developing breast cancer, and if you have two first-degree relatives with breast cancer, this triples your risk.

If you have a family history of breast cancer, visit your doctor to discuss your risk and for more information about hereditary cancer please read our recent blog post.

Other factors that have been shown to increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer include: being overweight or obese; alcohol consumption, hormone replacement therapy; smoking; and oestrogen and progesterone contraceptives.

Breast Cancer Prevention

To reduce your risk of developing breast cancer you should adopt a healthy lifestyle. In particular you should: limit your alcohol intake, stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables but low in animal fat; and if you have the choice, breast feed.

Breast Cancer Screening

In the UK all women between the ages of 50 and 70 are invited for breast screening every 3 years as part of the national breast screening programme. Women over the age of 70 can still be screened, you’ll have to contact your local breast screening unit to organise this. In England, the breast screening age is being extended to all women between the ages of 47 and 73.

Breast screening involves having an x-ray of each breast (this is a mammogram) which allows a clear image of the inside of the breast to be developed. This technique is capable of detecting breast cancer at an early stage, much earlier than a breast self-examination.

To find out more about the NHS Breast Screening Programme please visit their website

Now that Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come to an end, remember to remain breast aware throughout the year.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this infographic by the Cancer Treatment Centres of America tells you everything you need to know about breast cancer.

On 27th March, we attended the 100 Black Men of London’s event “Keep calm and let’s talk about prostate cancer”. This was a very interesting event that highlighted the many challenges faced by black men when it comes to prostate cancer.

The event started with a presentation by Dr Kingsley Osayi, a Consultant Pathologist at Basildon and Thurrock Hospital. Dr Osayi gave an overview of the role of the prostate, common prostate conditions, the symptoms of prostate cancer, risk factors and treatment.

The most startling statistic from Dr Osayi’s presentation was just how common prostate cancer is in black men with 1 in 4 black men expected to develop prostate cancer compared to 1 in 8 white men. It was unsettling to learn that there still isn’t a clear understanding of why prostate cancer is more common in black men, but the prevailing view is that there is a genetic reason for this rather than it being lifestyle related.

After Dr Osayi set the scene it was time for the debate, which was chaired by Kola Sonaike, President of 100 Black Men of London and featured the following panellists:
· Elijah Ashanti Israel– a prostate cancer survivor
· Rose Thompson – Director, BME Cancer Communities
· Ann Smart – Clinical Nurse Specialist, Prostate Cancer UK
· Dr Kingsley Osayi – Consultant Pathologist, Basildon and Thurrock Hospital

We learnt from the debate that:

1. Black men suffer from a more aggressive type of prostate cancer that develops at a younger age than the less aggressive forms that affect the general population. NHS guidelines recommend PSA testing should be made available, if requested, to men from the age of 50, but this is not helpful for black men and may need to be readjusted to allow black men to easily request a PSA test at a younger age.

2. Black men with a family history of prostate and breast cancer are not being dealt with appropriately by their doctors. Anyone with a strong family history of cancer should be provided with sound advice from their doctor; given the opportunity to discuss regular PSA testing; and also be offered a referral to a genetic counsellor for a discussion about what their family history might mean about their risk of developing prostate cancer and what options are available to reduce their risk or to ensure early diagnosis.

3. There is a low level of awareness of prostate cancer in the black community and a lack of willingness to discuss this issue.This means that black men don’t realise the seriousness of urinary symptoms and don’t visit their doctors soon enough. Furthermore there is an unwillingness to discuss cancer in the black community which means the challenges experienced by black men are not identified so key issues are not addressed at a political level.

The debate ended with agreement that these issues need to be dealt with on two levels. Firstly, GPs need to be made aware of how prostate cancer affects black men and guidelines need to be developed on how GPs should manage black men especially those with a family history of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer. Secondly, the black community needs to be more informed about prostate cancer to ensure we are more proactive on this issue so that more men are diagnosed early.

A lot of the issues raised at the event have been analysed and presented in a report entitled ‘Hear me Now’ written by Rose Thompson. You can read the report here and a follow-up report will be launched in a of couple weeks’ time.

We thoroughly enjoyed this most informative event and The Lake Foundation will continue to raise awareness of prostate cancer and will work with other organisations to address the issues raised.