Ian Colby, a 57-year-old former long-distance runner and cyclist, was in peak physical condition when he was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer at age 52. The disease had already spread to his bones, spine, and pelvis. He recalls being given a life expectancy of five to ten years, stating he feels ’robbed of a long life’ and believes an earlier PSA test could have led to a cure.
The UK’s National Screening Committee recently decided against a widespread prostate cancer screening program, citing concerns over false positives and unnecessary treatment for slow-growing cancers. Instead, they proposed targeted screening only for men with a specific genetic mutation. This decision has been met with dismay by charities like Prostate Cancer UK, which has long campaigned for regular PSA tests for all middle-aged men.
With 12,000 men dying from prostate cancer annually in the UK, experts argue the current system is failing. While men over 50 can request a PSA test, many are unaware of it or cannot access their GP, leading to thousands of late-stage diagnoses each year when the disease is no longer curable.
