As the UK Government is expected to make a final decision on a screening programme for prostate cancer this month, Prostate Cymru is calling for men to be routinely tested.
Last year, the National Screening Committee (NSC) opened a public consultation following its draft decision to advise government against screening for all men. That’s despite the fact that one in eight men get prostate cancer.
Nor did it back a screening programme for black men, who have double the risk of developing the disease, or for those with a family history.
It is anticipated that the Government will discuss the NSC’s final recommendations in the next week or so.
Prostate Cymru Chair Andy Thomas – a recently retired consultant urological surgeon – says:
“Early diagnosis is key. In Wales, the impact of prostate cancer is significant, affecting 1 in 8 men, and 1 in 3 with a family history. Often, it doesn’t present with any symptoms so it is essential that men get tested.
“Currently, you only get tested if you request it – or if you have a proactive GP that recommends it. But we constantly hear of men who have difficulties in getting a GP appointment, and in some cases even being refused a test. And what about the men who don’t think to ask for a test? We need a screening programme.”
Because so many men struggle to get a test through their GP, Prostate Cymru ran its own testing events last year and is doing so again this summer – with the help of commercial sponsors. In 2025, 200 men received a red alert after going along to an event, advising them to seek medical advice immediately. That was almost 6% of all those tested by the charity:
“We do what we can,” adds Andy. “But we are a charity and we simply cannot test everyone. The government needs to be more proactive in raising awareness among those most at risk and it needs to educate and advise GPs so that men aren’t refused tests or feel dissuaded.”
Kervin Julien from Cardiff is a Black Caribbean man. He is 60 years old and two days before Christmas, he was given the news: you have prostate cancer.
Since undergoing surgery, Kervin is now using his voice to not only raise awareness of the risks among Black men but is calling on the government to do more:
“The government is lingering on a decision that could save lives. With one in eight men getting prostate cancer, we need screening. And with one in four black men getting it, we definitely need screening,” says Kervin.
“Many men make excuses for certain symptoms that they might be going through, and we don’t talk about these things. And lots of men don’t even have any symptoms but still have prostate cancer. A screening programme would mean it wouldn’t rely on men being proactive and having to ask for a test.”
“Now I want to campaign for screening. And I want to create awareness for black men, especially among younger black men, so they understand the risks,” he added.
James Roberts, 59, from Abergele is also sharing his story. He was diagnosed with stage three prostate cancer after attending a Prostate Cymru PSA test event last summer. It was just a few months after he felt he had been dissuaded by his GP practice from having a PSA test.
He says:
“I am stage three so that means the cancer has spread outside the prostate but it hasn’t gone into my bones or the lymph nodes. It’s what they call ‘advanced’. Had they caught it earlier, I could have had surgery to remove it.
“Women routinely have smears and mammograms so why are we getting left behind? Policy makers are arguing that it isn’t reliable – but this blood test takes five minutes and it’s a marker, isn’t it? It indicates whether you need further tests. Without Prostate Cymru and the PSA test, I wouldn’t have known anything about this and it would have ended up being stage four,” adds James.
Swansea man Dean Hopkins is also 59 years old. First tested by his GP in 2017, he was encouraged to come back in three years to be tested again. But then Covid hit and Dean gave up trying to get an appointment.
He went along to a PSA test event with Prostate Cymru and has since been diagnosed with stage three cancer. Dean says men should be routinely invited to be tested:
“We need a national screening programme because it was just luck that I saw an advert for the Prostate Cymru event. This can’t just come down to luck or whether you have a GP that takes it seriously. We all need to be screened.
“If I’d been tested in 2020, this would have been caught earlier. I feel I missed out on six or seven years – in which time, my cancer was growing.”
