New figures – published by PCUK in Feb 2018 – reveal that for the first time more men died from prostate cancer than women died from breast cancer. Using data from 2015, the latest available, 11,819 men died from prostate cancer in the UK, compared to 11,442 women dying from breast cancer. It means the male-only disease is now the third most common cancer to die from, after lung and bowel cancer.
Since 1999, the number of women dying from breast cancer has been steadily decreasing, while prostate cancer deaths are still on the rise. During that time, breast cancer has benefitted from a screening programme, significant investments in research and more than double the number of published studies compared to ones for prostate cancer.
Despite the alarming figures, the prospects for men with prostate cancer are actually better than ever, with men diagnosed today two-and-a-half times more likely to live for 10 years or more than if they were diagnosed in 1990. Yet due mainly to an increasing and ageing population, the number of men dying from the disease is growing. Since the NHS won’t bring in a screening programme, PCaSO, with other support groups around the country, will do our best to provide a service.