Men should follow women's example and start talking about cancer - MEP

11.04.23am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 11th Oct 2006

Liz Lynne MEP, co-chair of the European Parliament's all-party group 'MEPs against Cancer', has said men should learn from the way women approach breast cancer and start talking and thinking about the dangers of prostate cancer.

Chairing a MEPs Against Cancer meeting in Brussels on the issue, West Midlands region Euro-MP Liz said:

"Women are now much more aware of the dangers of breast cancer and know what to look for"

"But despite prostate cancer being the most common form of cancer among men, there is still a terrifying ignorance about the risks and what the symptoms are."

"There is a great deal of research going into prostate cancer and, if detected early the chances of survival are good, but if we are going to really tackle the problem men must not be afraid to find out the facts and be prepared to talk about it and visit a medical professional."

Editor's Notes

Liz Lynne is co chair and helped to set up MEPs against Cancer, an all-party informal group of fifty-one MEPs committed to promoting action on cancer as an EU priority and harnessing European health policy to that end. For more information please visit the MAC website: www.mepsagainstcancer.org

Cancer in Europe: Key facts and figures

-There are more than 2 million new cases and more than 1.1 million cancer deaths in EU each year

-Every day 5214 Europeans are diagnosed with cancer and 3185 die from their disease

-Lung cancer is the commonest form of cancer, followed closely by colorectal cancer

-Lung, colorectal and breast cancer account for two-fifths of the entire European cancer population

-Most of the other cancer are considered rare diseases according to the EU criteria affecting not more than 5/10,000 people in the EU

-The number of Europeans with cancer will increase dramatically over the next 20 years

Prostate Cancer: Key facts and figures

-Prostate Cancer is the most common form of cancer in men and it is the third cancer killer after lung and colorectal cancer.

-Prostate cancer is expected to increase as the European population ages. By 2025 there will be an estimated 22% increase in the population aged over 65.

-In the Europe Union each year there are 202,100 new cases and 68,200 men will die.

-This compares with breast cancer 275.100 new cases and 88,400 deaths

-Prostate cancer is not as deadly as lung cancer for men, but it has tremendous implications for our quality of life.

-Compared with other types of cancer it is relatively slow growing.

-Men must become more aware of prostate health, speak up and become advocates.

-About 60% of men over 55 have benign prostate growth (BPH), a different disease not related to cancer. BPH often causes the well-known, inconvenient and sometimes troublesome problems of urination.