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Prostate cancer is now the most diagnosed cancer in New Zealand and one in eight men will have prostate cancer in their lifetime, says a spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand (PCFNZ).

“Yet, despite all the evidence that early detection makes the difference between life and death, the third-largest killer of men in this country is not given the same priority as breast, bowel, and cancer. cervix”.

Hosted at the Te Papa Museum in Wellington on Sunday 28 August, PCFNZ held its first conference in two years with a variety of high-level voices and specialists from New Zealand and abroad, discussing some of the biggest challenges facing the country in screening terms, Diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

The European Association of Urology conference keynote speaker, Professor Dr. Hendrik Van Poppel, joined the conference via video link from Europe and described how a structured approach to early detection of prostate cancer could lead to a 40 percent reduction in mortality in New Zealand.

Hendrik, a world-leading expert in early detection of the disease, presented at the conference how informed discussions between men and their GPs, the use of a simple PSA blood test and MRI of men who subsequently found to be at risk would result in fewer men undergoing unnecessary invasive investigations than at present, a significant reduction in deaths from prostate cancer, and a better quality of life for those diagnosed.

PSA is a simple blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer.

“Even though we have access to better diagnosis and treatment, recommendations against organized screening have led to increased death rates in many parts of Europe and America,” says Hendrick.

“In the UK, more men die from prostate cancer than women from breast cancer, and it is the leading cause of death for men in Sweden.

“Organized screening is the solution needed to stop the rising rate of too late diagnoses, decrease deaths from prostate cancer, stop costly and ineffective opportunistic testing, and most importantly, improve the quality of life for patients with prostate cancer. prostate cancer”.

The New Zealand Prostate Cancer Foundation conference was held in Wellington on Sunday 28 August. Photo: RCFNZ.

Professor Dr Hendrik Van Poppel and his colleagues have made recommendations to the European Union and the European Community, and he hopes that the European Union guidelines will be updated to include the need for structured and organized testing for prostate cancer at from December this year.

“Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in New Zealand, but if caught early, it’s also treatable,” says the Foundation’s CEO, Peter Dickens.

“It is extremely frustrating and should be a matter of national concern in New Zealand that, despite all the evidence pointing to early detection and proper treatment being the difference between life and death, methods of detecting the disease , treatments and drugs for prostate cancer patients that are considered standard and funded in other countries are severely limited here, or even non-existent outside the main centers.

“The inequalities are also painfully apparent, as figures clearly show that tāne Māori diagnosed with prostate cancer experience a disproportionately higher mortality rate than other New Zealand men. It is unnecessary and we should all find it unacceptable.”

The conference also welcomed PCFNZ’s new president, Danny Bedingfield, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the young age of 37, just nine months after his father lost his five-year battle with cancer. advanced prostate. He is a strong advocate of younger men getting tested and has been part of several media campaigns during Blue September to try to raise awareness of the benefits of regular PSA testing.

“Men are still reluctant to talk about prostate cancer,” says Danny.

“And I’m on a mission to change that. We should encourage all men over the age of 50 to have a conversation with their doctor about prostate cancer, insist on a PSA testing schedule that is appropriate for them, and if they have a family history of prostate cancer, they should do so much sooner. I am living proof that early detection can be the difference between life and death, unfortunately my father did not have that opportunity.

“The 42,000 men currently living with prostate cancer in New Zealand are not just a statistic, they are all fathers, sons, grandparents and best friends who don’t deserve the opportunity to share the lives of their families and those around them. taken too soon.

PCFNZ plays a vital role in raising prostate cancer awareness in New Zealand. It has 45 support networks in New Zealand that provide valuable support and resources to men with prostate cancer and their families.

Each year, PCFNZ allocates significant funding to New Zealand-based research to find better diagnostic and treatment options for prostate cancer.

The Foundation is 100 percent donor funded and receives no direct funding from the government.

PCFNZ is committed to being the voice of men living with the disease in New Zealand, advocating on their behalf for better health outcomes today and for future generations.

Blue September is the charity’s flagship fundraising event, Kiwis across the country are encouraged to support the one in eight men and their whānau affected by prostate cancer and Do Something Blue to help a partner during the month of September: www.blueseptember.org. New Zealand.

PCFNZ supports Kristine Hayward’s petition calling for an early prostate detection strategy, to sign the petition click here.

Kristine’s husband died of prostate cancer and she believes that “testing is underfunded, disorganized and inequitable. Inequalities in testing allow too many men to die, with Maori and rural men being disproportionately affected. We need a structured, population-based testing approach for early detection of prostate cancer in men over 50 years of age (40 with a family history), just as we have done for breast cancer.”