Inside Health

BBC Radio 4

Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.

Categories: Health

Listen to the last episode:

Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is calling for more prostate cancer testing after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Prostate cancer can often present without symptoms, and for people like Sir Chris, this can mean it isn't diagnosed until it has spread and become incurable. Unlike breast, bowel, or cervical cancer, there is currently no national screening programme that routinely invites men for prostate cancer testing. Instead, men over 50 can request what's known as a PSA blood test from their GP, but it's not automatically offered. Sir Chris wants that to change and is calling for the test to be made more easily available for men under 50, especially those with a family history of prostate cancer. But, expanding prostate screening is a divisive issue. While it could help detect cancer earlier in some cases, there are potential drawbacks. Inside Health's James Gallagher talks with Professor Frank Chinegwundoh, Consultant Urological Surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust, Professor Hashim Ahmed, Chair of Urology at Imperial College London and Inside Health's resident GP Dr Margaret McCartney about the evidence for and against prostate cancer screening - and whether Sir Chris's campaign could and should change the guidance. This programme was produced in partnership with The Open University.

Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Editor: Holly Squire