MP backs campaign to help men

8:54am Sunday 13th July 2008

A CAMPAIGN to get more help for men suffering from prostate cancer is being backed by a Bolton MP.

Health experts say seven out of 10 men in the advanced stages of the disease are not being offered a full range of treatments like chemotherapy.

Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, has signed an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling for men to be told all the benefits late-stage treatment can bring.

He said: "Prostate cancer is not often given the attention it deserves.

"It is shocking that the vast majority of men in the last stages of the disease are not getting the treatment they are entitled to.

"Clearly, this is unacceptable and we need to understand why this is happen ing.

"Access to prostate cancer care shouldn't be left to chance."

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends chemotherapy when the tumour has spread and has stopped responding to initial hormone treatment.

But institute recently acknowledged that its guidance on managing late-stage prostate cancer patients was not being fully implemented.

The 7 Out Of 10 campaign is the first public campaign targeted at improving care for men with late-stage prostate cancer.

Around 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 men die from the disease a year.

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