Prostate Cancer UK hits the road to raise awareness of shocking risk of prostate cancer in black men

Men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK is taking to the road this summer in a double decker bus to bring an urgent health warning to nation’s black men.
One in four black men across the country will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime - double the risk faced by white men in the UK.
But just 8% of the UK’s black men are currently wise to the increased danger they face from prostate cancer and just under a quarter (23%) actually think they have a lower risk of the disease.(i) In a bid to address the problem head on, over the next six weeks, Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘One In Four Tour’ bus will be pulling up in cities across the country to reach black men with one vital message – know your risk of prostate cancer and if you’re aged 45 or over speak to your doctor about it as it could save your life.
England’s first black footballer and long-time Prostate Cancer UK supporter, Viv Anderson is backing the charity’s latest drive to raise this issue amongst the black community and will be coming along for the ride to encourage guys to take action before it’s too late.
He said; “Every black guy needs to know that we face a considerable threat from prostate cancer. The statistics are startling and simply can’t be ignored. This is a disease that discriminates against our community – our brothers, dads, uncles and friends. Awareness is essential to get us to where we need to be to beat this disease, which is why I’m so pleased to be supporting Prostate Cancer UK’s crucial campaign.”
The awareness drive comes as research newly published in the learned journal, BMC Medicine, reveals that black men in the UK not only face double the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, compared to white men, but as a result a greater proportion of black men also die from the disease.
Shockingly, the ‘double whammy’ research shows that one in four black men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime against one in eight white men; and one in twelve black men will die from it, compared to one in twenty four white men.(ii)
However, Prostate Cancer UK highlights that the disease can often be successfully treated if it’s diagnosed early enough.
Tony Wong, African and African Caribbean Project Manager at Prostate Cancer UK said; “Prostate cancer affects all men, no matter what your ethnicity, but for black guys the danger is greater. However there is some good news as in most cases if prostate cancer is caught early, it can be treated. But for this to happen you need to know you’re at risk in the first place, which is why we’re taking to the road this summer to spread the word.
“An astonishing 92% of black men are currently unaware of their increased risk of prostate cancer and many are also reluctant to go to the doctors and so miss out on those vital conversations which could actually save their lives. We need to change these stats for the better if we’re going to reduce the number of black men dying from this disease.”
The ‘One In Four Tour’ starts it’s journey on Saturday 8th August in Leeds and will travel to Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol and four boroughs of London over the following weeks, taking the message into the heart of the country’s most substantial black communities.
A host of celebrities will be hopping on board the bus during the tour. Former England striker, Les Ferdinand; Xtra Factor presenter, Melvin Odoom; Jamaican chef and Reggae Reggae sauce mastermind Levi Roots, and highly acclaimed British stand-up comedian, Stephen K. Amos are just a handful of the famous faces who have pledged their support to this campaign and are encouraging black guys to get to grips with their risk of prostate cancer.
To find out more about when the bus will be visiting your city go to: http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/on-tour-for-the-1-in-4
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