Prostate cancer care ‘a lottery’

Prostate Cancer UK said that many men in the West Midlands and Essex are receiving poor prostate cancer care and support while the majority who live in Greater Manchester are getting optimal care.

Owen Sharp, chief executive of the charity, said: “It is an outrage that men face a postcode lottery in the care and support they need to navigate the minefield that is the prostate cancer treatment journey.

“There are over 215,000 men living with the disease in England and this number is set to rise at an alarming rate. To help combat this, it is vital that every man has access to world class information, care and support they need and deserve – no matter where they live.”

The charity assessed services in each cancer network by examining patients’ access to specialist nurses, whether they were pointed towards support groups, whether the patients were given different treatment options or written information about their cancer and other variables.

The charity’s Quality of Care says that there is “is clear room for improvement” in the West Midlands and Essex, adding: ” Their patient experience scores are at the bottom end of the scale in almost every measure.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We want to make sure that our cancer services are world class and that NHS patients receive the best treatment available, wherever they live.

“This is why we have invested £35 million in the biggest publicly funded clinical trial ever to take place in this country to look at the effectiveness of treatments for prostate cancer.”