More than 1,100 men from Bridgnorth and the surrounding area turned the recent prostate cancer screening event into “probably the country’s largest single screening of its type in the country”, according to a Bridgnorth Lions official.
More than 50 men may have been found to have the disease which is the country’s most prevalent cancer for men over the age of 50. Blood tests can reveal levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) which may indicate the presence of the cancer. Men attending will receive their test results within a few weeks and those with red level results will be advised to seek urgent medical advice from their GPs, while others with amber are advised to monitor their PSA levels. Those with green results should have ‘no concerns’.
Bridgnorth Lions started the screening in 2009 and since then more than 7,000 tests have been carried out, with more than 350 men being found to have the disease. Retired consultant urologist David Baxter-Smith, who reviews the tests, explains, “Our experience in Bridgnorth shows that we should expect at least 50 of the men attending to have the condition, almost all of them having no symptoms.”
Lions spokesperson Chris Aked adds, “This was an astonishingly successful community event, with the number of men attending more than 200 higher than last year. More and more men are realising that this simple test, while not 100% accurate, can be an indicator of the need for further investigation. The tests were carried out mainly by the phlebotomists from our own Bridgnorth Hospital while local companies contributed towards our cost by sponsoring the event.”
