It is estimated that 1 in 8 UK men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, Movember’s month long campaign for awareness surrounding the condition remains an important mission.
Movember are the leading charity, aiming to change the face of men’s health. Their ambition is to help men live happier, healthier and longer lives. Since 2003, the charity has funded more than 1,250 men’s global health projects for those affected by prostate and testicular cancer as well as mental health and suicide prevention.
Each November, Movember run an awareness campaign with the view of breaking the silence and encouraging Mo Bros and Sisters to change the lives of men around the world.
Helpfully, the profound effects of campaigns like Movember’s continue to be felt year on year. Once of the projects that Movember have funded is the INNOVATE trial. This established a new type of MRI scan which could remove the need for thousands of men to have unnecessary biopsies.
Where before, men displaying risk factors would have to undergo prostate biopsy surgeries to definitively rule out prostate cancer, VERDICT MRI scans are able to accurately identify those who are free from cancer.
Published in August last year, findings from a University College London study detailed how the scan could be performed on hospitals’ existing MRI devices and rule out the need for 90% of unnecessary biopsies.
The thought of having to speak to your GP, concerned that you may have cancer, is overwhelming, particularly if there is a chance that you may need an invasive procedure such as a biopsy to establish a diagnosis. However, if that step can be avoided, and diagnosis reached by undergoing MRI imaging alone, we hope that this will see an increase in men reaching out and sharing their concerns with their GP.
Movember have worked partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, which has seen over 90 grants being provided to medical research programs like this one.
With the Movember awareness month well under way and the 19th being International Men’s Day, its hoped raised awareness and studies like these enable men to more readily obtain tests to rule out preventable diagnoses.
We welcome this breakthrough in medical science and the ongoing awareness campaigns. We hope it means less men are put off attending medical appointments and facilitates a healthier approach to cancer in men.
You can find out more about Movember and the projects they are involved in, engage with their various awareness campaigns, or contact them for support here: Movember - About Us - The Movember Foundation
Equally, to find out more about the work undertaken by Prostate Cancer UK, or again to seek support, you can find their details here: Prostate Cancer UK | Prostate Cancer UK
Supporting Movember’s mission statement, it’s time to speak up, men are dying too young. Don’t stay silent – seek support.
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