Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has undergone treatment for prostate cancer. He is now demanding that the British government implement a preventative program with timely screenings and is urging his fellow citizens to get tested promptly.
“I don’t particularly enjoy talking about my personal health issues, but I feel I have to. Let’s face it: men aren’t very good at talking about their health. We tend to procrastinate.”
These are the words of David Cameron, the former Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. He reveals that he has been treated for prostate cancer.
It began when Cameron’s wife heard a radio interview with Nick Jones, a well-known British entrepreneur. Jones said he had undergone a prostate cancer test, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and was undergoing treatment. Cameron’s wife subsequently forced the former prime minister to take a test as well, which came back positive.
“You get an MRI scan with a few black spots on it. You think, ‘Oh, that’s probably nothing serious.’ But when the biopsy results come in, it turns out you have prostate cancer. You’re always terrified of ever having to hear those words,” Cameron writes.
The former prime minister has since been treated for the disease. He underwent focal therapy, in which electrical pulses attack and destroy cancer cells.
Cameron is now asking the government to establish a specific prevention program that can detect (signs of) prostate cancer early through targeted screening. This way, the cancer can be treated more effectively.
Every year, 55,000 British men are diagnosed with the condition, making it the most common cancer in the sexes. A program like Cameron’s proposal doesn’t currently exist in the UK.
“I want to get this story out there,” says Cameron, “and add my name to the long list of people advocating for a targeted screening program.”
Prostate Cancer UK’s head, Chiara De Baise, has already thanked the former Prime Minister for his testimony and appeal. “Every year, we lose 12,000 fathers, brothers, sons, and friends to this disease. We’ve reached a turning point in the UK. Prostate cancer is the last cancer for which there’s no screening program, and that must change now.”
