Wes Streeting ‘examining evidence’ after experts advise against mass prostate cancer screening
‘Bitterly disappointed’ but determined to ‘keep fighting’ – celebrities speak out after screening advicepublished at 16:52 GMT
We’ve been hearing from more high-profile figures who have been expressing their disappointment following the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendations.
Actor and broadcaster Tony Robinson, who starred as Baldrick in Blackadder, first spoke about his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2023. Commenting on today’s developments, he says he is “bitterly disappointed”.
“I was lucky I found my cancer early, but nearly 10,000 men a year are diagnosed too late for a cure and that’s just not right,” he says.
Image source, PA Media
Former professional footballer Les Ferdinand, whose grandfather died from the disease, points out that black men are at “double the risk” and “twice as likely to die”.
“Something has to be done,” he says.
“It’s unacceptable that outdated guidelines mean GPs can’t talk to black men about their risk despite it being so high,” he adds.
Image source, Getty Images
Journalist Dermot Murnaghan, who has previously worked for ITV, the BBC and Sky News, says he “thought we were heading to an exciting moment”. It felt “about time progress was made for men”, he adds.
Now he is left with “disappointment” but says he will “keep fighting until we start to turn the tide on prostate cancer”.
Finding out he had the disease was “devastating”, Murnaghan says, but it has “emboldened” him to “do his bit” in encouraging other men to get checked out early.
Image source, Getty Images
