Prostate Cancer UK
‘Men, we are with you.’ That's Prostate Cancer UK’s philosophy. We have a simple ambition - to stop prostate cancer damaging the lives of men and their families.
And we fund research to transform the way prostate cancer is understood, diagnosed and treated.
All of our work, whether that's investing in research, supporting men who are living with the disease now, campaigning for change or raising money, we undertake with the knowledge that we're working towards a future where no more men die of this terrible disease.
The statistics hit hard, which is why we need to act now to shape that better future:
- Prostate cancer is not only the most common cancer in men but now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK.
- Nearly 12,000 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year - that's one man every 45 minutes.
- It's a disease that will affect one in eight men in the UK in their lifetime, and that risk intensifies to one in four if you're a black man.
- Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50 and the risk increases with age. But the risk is higher for black men or men with a family history of prostate cancer, so they may wish to speak to their GP from age 45.
- To help men find out whether they are at increased risk of developing the disease, Prostate Cancer UK has launched an online risk checker, available at prostatecanceruk.org/riskcheck
Honouring the great Bob Willis
After the death of Bob Willis from prostate cancer in December 2019, the cricket world was galvanised into action. Bob's widow, Lauren Clark, is leading a fundraising charge for Prostate Cancer UK and calling for better ways to diagnose the disease - and his great mate Beefy is lending his support.
Bob and Beefy were not only England teammates on the field, but remained close friends off it, with Lord Botham writing the foreword for the best-selling book, Bob Willis, A Cricketer and a Gentleman, a story-laced tribute to Bob, with all royalties coming to Prostate Cancer UK.
And the recent Bob Willis Trophy, which raised vital funds and awareness of the disease, was a suggestion from Ian with great support from the ECB.
Bob was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2016. He didn't have any clear symptoms and had undergone a PSA blood test only a few months earlier, but his cancer was diagnosed as advanced after an MRI scan. He continued to work as a much-loved pundit for Sky Sports while undergoing his arduous treatment journey until shortly before his death was announced in December 2019, at the age of 70.
"The fact that in the UK, prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed of all the cancers – and yet there’s still no screening programme for it - goes to show why a lot more needs to be done into prostate cancer research," said Lauren.
"I want to help people with prostate cancer. I want Bob to have a legacy. I would love to see an improved and more accurate blood test that determines the severity of prostate cancer much quicker, so that men and their families can understand sooner how aggressive or otherwise their disease is."
"I want to think about him all the time, so that's really why Bob's brother, David, and I support Prostate Cancer UK. There are a lot of things to be done about it and no time to waste."
How the partnership with the Beefy Foundation will help
Teaming up with the Beefy Foundation will enable Prostate Cancer UK to invest over £170,000 in a vital research project into earlier and better prostate cancer diagnosis.
Professor Paula Mendes at the University of Birmingham is leading a study into re-inventing the PSA blood test to make it able to detect not just the presence of prostate cancer, but also how aggressive it is.
A breakthrough here would spare other families from the kind of journey which Bob went through.
There's more information on it here: https://prostatecanceruk.org/research/research-we-fund/ria17-st2-020
Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer may contact Prostate Cancer UK's Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service: https://prostatecanceruk.org/. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 8pm on Wednesdays.