Lord David Cameron has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after going for a health check-up with his GP.
The former Prime Minister, 59, said he was told to get checked out by his wife after she heard about Soho House founder Nick Jones’s struggle with the disease on the radio.
Lord Cameron said his prostate specific antigen (PSA) test came out worryingly high, before his biopsy confirmed he had the illness.
Revealing it has been a busy year, he told The Times: ‘You have an MRI scan with a few black marks on it. You think, “Ah, that’s probably OK.” But when the biopsy comes back, and it says you have got prostate cancer?
‘You always dread hearing those words. And then literally as they’re coming out of the doctor’s mouth you’re thinking, “Oh, no, he’s going to say it. He’s going to say it. Oh God, he said it.” Then came the next decision. Do you get treatment? Or do you watch and wait?’
Now, the politician has called for screening to be offered to men most at risk of the disease.
‘I want to, as it were, come out. I want to add my name to the long list of people calling for a targeted screening programme,’ he said.
Lord David Cameron has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after going for a health check-up with his GP
Lord Cameron said he decided to go for focal therapy, and was given another MRI scan after treatment, showing the method had been successful.
Focal therapy uses needles to deliver electric pulses to destroy the cancerous cells, and is less invasive than a prostatectomy or radiotherapy.
It comes amid the news that the first NHS screening programme for prostate cancer could be given the green light this week – marking a game-changing opportunity to save thousands of lives.
On Thursday, the government’s National Screening Committee (NSC) will meet to make a decision that could revolutionise early detection and treatment.
The country’s top oncologists, economists and medical ethicists are expected to issue a recommendation on whether to roll out widespread screening in a bid to catch the disease earlier.
But it would likely only be approved for people at highest risk – such as those with a family history or particular genes.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men, with around 63,000 diagnoses and 12,000 deaths each year in the UK.
The Daily Mail has long campaigned for a national screening programme – similar to that in place for breast, bowel and cervical cancer – to be implemented.
This call has been backed by Olympic cycling great Sir Chris Hoy, who was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.
The NHS currently uses PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood testing and MRI scans to check for the disease.
