3 minutes Adam Gaines

Statement by Prostate Scotland regarding cancer survival gap in deprived communities

The gap between survival rate from cancer from people in deprived and non-deprived areas (highlighted in the recent Macmillan Cancer Support/ISD report) is a very significant worry and means that everyone engaged in the cancer community needs to redouble efforts to ensure that people from the more deprived communities have access to information and awareness about prostate cancer and its’ symptoms. We have been taking forward a range of initiatives across Scotland in both urban and rural areas to reach out and build awareness of prostate cancer and its symptoms amongst all communities with an emphasis on reaching harder to reach and deprived communities. We are committed to working in partnership with the NHS and other organisations to further tackle this issue to help ensure that the survival gap for men with prostate cancer from deprived communities is closed. This is particularly important in view of the likely rise in the incidence of prostate cancer over the next decade.

We note that surgery is a key factor in survival rates and over the past three years have been taking forward a major initiative to increase availability of prostate cancer surgery treatment options in Scotland, though supporting the introduction of robotic assisted prostate cancer surgery’.
20 February 2017

Notes to editors:

  1. For further information please contact Adam Gaines on 0131 603 8660 or info@prostatescotland.org.uk
  2. Prostate Scotland was set up in 2006 as a Scottish charity to develop awareness of prostate disease, to support men and their families/ partners with the disease through providing advice and
    information and to advance treatment and research into prostate disease. Its aim is to reach out across Scotland to create greater awareness amongst men and their families/partners about prostate disease and to advance treatment. It has established an award winning website www.prostatescotland.org.uk providing a wide range of information about prostate disease and treatments, as well as providing information and advice about prostate disease to men and their families across Scotland. In 2010 the charity won a national award for its impact on community health and in 2013 and 2015 was commended in the British Medical Association Patient information Awards. Prostate Scotland is a registered Scottish charity No.SC037494
  3. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men in Scotland, with a lifetime chance of one in ten men developing it. There were over 32,675 new registrations of men with prostate cancer between 2004 and 2014 and 9133 deaths of men in Scotland from prostate cancer, during that period . Over the past 20 years the number of men surviving prostate cancer has doubled and survival rates are now 80%.  Projections by the NHS show that the diagnosis of men with prostate cancer is likely to rise by up to 35% between now and 2027.