Kerry Bartlett (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

By the end of the three sitting days of this shortened sitting week, approximately 22 Australian men will have died of prostate cancer and some 82 others will have been diagnosed with it. Prostate cancer is by far the most common cancer in men. It claims roughly the same number of lives as breast cancer does in women, around 2,700 a year, and around 10,000 men in Australia each year are diagnosed with prostate cancer. This week is Men’s Health Week, and associated with it is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Week. The aim of this is to raise awareness of the risks of prostate cancer and to convince men, particularly men over 50, of the need to undertake regular tests. As with many cancers, the causes are unknown, but with prostate cancer certainly there is a greater likelihood of it with increasing age. Some 70 per cent of cases are diagnosed in men over the age of 65. The adage used to be: ‘Men die with prostate cancer, not of prostate cancer.’ However, with an ageing population, extension of life and increased medical improvements in the later years of life, more and more men are dying of prostate cancer rather than just with it. Another risk factor is family history—whether a father or a brother has had prostate cancer. As with a number of other cancers, there is an increased risk for people whose diets are very high in fatty foods.

As with most cancers, the chances of a cure are much greater if prostate cancer is detected early. If cancer is present but is confined to the prostate, it can be treated by radiation or surgery, both treatments having improved substantially in recent years. The survival rates, if the cancer is detected early, are quite high. However, as with many cancers, if left undetected prostate cancer will metastasise, usually spreading to the bones, and then it will become incurable. For this reason it is imperative that men at risk are regularly tested. This is initially done quite simply by measuring the PSA levels, the prostate specific antigen levels, in a simple blood test. Any rise in those PSA levels between tests will be followed up with other tests. Men suffering symptoms, particularly difficulties in urinating, the sudden need to urinate, frequent urination, especially at night, or problems or pain with ejaculation, should see their doctor. Men over 50, or even younger if there is a family history, should be regularly tested.

The symptoms mentioned above do not necessarily mean cancer; they could indicate benign enlargement of the prostate. If that is the case, that certainly is far better than a diagnosis of cancer. But, tragically, the symptoms could indicate cancer. If so, the earlier the detection and the sooner the treatment, the greater the chance of survival. The message is simply this: if you are at risk, go to your doctor and get tested.

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